


Grá, Dílseacht, Cairdeas

by Arachniphobia16



Series: Pillarverse [1]
Category: Hotel Transylvania (2012), The Devouring Series (Simon Holt)
Genre: Complicated story gets complicated, Confusing insanity, Everyone is mad at Drac, Gen, Graphic Imagery, Graphic Violence, Horror, I'm Going to Hell, Vours are nasty critters, Zeyphx gets lost in the timestream, insane character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-16
Updated: 2015-10-27
Packaged: 2018-03-30 18:14:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 61,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3946738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arachniphobia16/pseuds/Arachniphobia16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Love, loyalty, friendship) Darkness seeps back into every corner of the world and a chill sweeps through mortal flesh and immortal bone. A piercing shriek in the dark heard not in the ears. The six pillars come together to fight, bound by blood and battle. The great shadow of doom covers the whole of earth, but whose doom is the one so rapidly approaching?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first installment in a trilogy I've been working on. Starts off slow but hopefully it'll pick up for you guys quickly enough. Been having loads of fun with this and it is my first story posted on this site. It is also on Fanfiction but this version may wind up with more in it than that one. This is only the prologue and yes it does tie in with the rest of the story.

It was cold and dark and the thunder clashed deafeningly over the small hut in the midst of a dilapidated farmyard where the cattle roamed as they pleased that night. The cows were smarter than they looked and stayed well away from the farmhouse and wandered away into the foothills. The gate to their pen was supposed to have been closed, but the fence had been forgotten.

  
A jagged strip of lighting ripped its way across the night sky illuminating a young boy in the corner of the main room gripping tight to his mother. He paid no heed to the storm for he had seen many even within his short years of living, what brought forth his tears was his father’s drunken rage.  
He hurriedly wiped away his tears as they came into view lest he get his mother and himself in more trouble. His father was a big man, strong and sure of himself, had a temper to match his size as well and the small black haired boy had a few scars to show for it. His mother couldn’t protect him from everything and when she tried his father would nearly kill her in his fit of anger.

  
Tonight, she had forgotten to close the cow pen. His mother was already sick and his blue shone with worry at the thought of her having to go outside in the bitter cold.

  
“But, mommy is sick.” He chanced a beating to possibly calm father down and leave his mother alone.

  
“Shut up boy! You’ll get your own lesson after I give one to your mother!!”

  
“Matei, you leave him alone! I’ve had enough of this! Now put down that filthy bottle!”

  
He could feel his mother’s trembling beneath his hands. This was by far the scariest experience he had yet to endure and he hoped that it would end soon. He had a feeling it would end very badly though. This was not a night that they could be arguing and screaming and drawing attention to them. He remembered what his mother had always told him about this night.

  
_When dark creeps in and eats the light_  
_Bury your fears on Sorry Night_  
_For in the winter’s blackest hours_  
_Comes the feasting of the Vours_  
_No one can see it, the life they stole_  
_Your body’s here but not your soul_

  
Tonight was Sorry Night. It was the only night of the year when mother would not go outside or light a fire. If mother was scared then he was scared. He was even more scared now, mother had never yelled at father.

  
As the lightning flashed again he saw a small face illuminated in the window. He was comforted by the small fact that his friend was outside. She had never been hurt on Sorry Night. She knew how to work around the dangers of this night. Most times she would’ve been secretly invited inside to play and explore his house that fascinated her so but tonight she would most likely sleep on the roof or sneak in through the window after father had fallen asleep.

  
Her name was Inmoon, it was a strange name to him but he like it. It was a pretty name and it fit her. She was ragged looking on the surface with her matted brown hair, mud coated skin, and scant clothing of animal skins but her bright purple eyes always shone through. She had said that her parents had long since left her to die and a pack of wolves raised her. He didn’t believe Inmoon at first until she introduced him to the wolf pack, her “family”. It was frightening but he soon grew to like them.

  
Having Inmoon outside made him a little less scared but the calm didn’t last as his mother was smacked to the floor, glass shards of the remains of his father’s whiskey bottle flew everywhere. His mother refused to cry as her face bled from the abuse. His father gave her a swift kick to the ribs while continuing to scream.

  
“Who do think you are woman?! No one talks to me like that ANYONE, especially not some weak stupid disgusting WOMAN!” This was emphasized by another kick to the ribs.  
His mother spit blood but still refused to cry.

  
“You’re stupidity is going to ruin me. Do you know how long it’s going to take to get those cows back in?” He grabbed her chin hard enough to bruise. “Sounds like you aren’t pulling your weight around here Aurora. I think you need to spend some time outside doing your chores!”

  
He hauled her up by her black hair and dragged her toward to door. The small boy made to grab his mother but one look from her blue eyes told him no, he needed to save himself. He saw Inmoon’s tears reflecting in the brief flashes of lightning and made his decision. He had always followed his mother’s orders but this time, this time she was wrong.

  
He ran forward, grabbed his father’s wool coat and pulled as hard as he could screaming at him to let mother go and that she was sick. It did nothing and his mother’s own screams were quickly deafened by the door between them. His father rounded on him and slapped him so hard his head smacked into the floor and he saw stars. He got up as quickly as he could and tried to run but his father grabbed him and slammed him into the wall, a cry of pain escaped the twelve year old boy’s lips.

  
He could hear his mother pounding mercilessly on the door and screaming at father to let her in. Screaming at her husband and begging him to not hurt her child. He sat down at the kitchen table as if contemplating whether or not continue his onslaught on his family. The boy slid to the floor in a daze.

  
“Please.” He spoke when his small trembling voice found him again. “Let Mommy inside.”

  
This seemed to anger the drunken man even more as he stood up, eyes aflame with rage and all pointed toward the thin black haired boy slumped against the wall. He said nothing as he approached but the boy knew that his dad was angrier tonight than he had ever been. His raised his fist and in a great crash and explosion of glass he was knocked off his feet. Inmoon scrambled back and crouched in front of him, letting out a snarl as Matei sat up to look at her.

  
She let out a furious howl of rage as she leaped on Matei’s weakened form in a flurry of flashing teeth and well placed blows. Aurora’s furious pounding at the door weakened and her screams changed.

  
“Stay inside Vlad! No matter what stay inside and keep quiet! DO AS I SAY! Stay inside!! They’re here, they’re here! Be quiet!!!!”

  
He felt a sudden chill seep into his body and freeze his very bones. He had been cold before, he did not have a plush life but this chill was different. Inmoon felt it too and she froze in her attack of his father whose face was now a clawed bloody mess. His father took this opportunity and threw her into the wall but she recovered quickly. Outside Aurora’s screams had turned to terrified babble.

  
Suddenly there was fire and Inmoon was holding a small torch made of a broken chair leg and his father’s whiskey.

  
“Foolish male,” Her voice was surprising to someone who didn’t know her, developing to be rich and smooth. “tonight evil feasts, not upon your female.”

  
Vlad quickly looked around as the inhuman screeches grew louder, so loud in his head but the sound was not in his ears. His mother sounded more panicked now. He saw an abandoned bottle of liquor on the floor nearby, he scrambled to it opened the lid and threw it near his father. Inmoon threw the torch then grabbed Vlad by the back of his shirt and leaped out the window. The two ran around to the front of the house where his mother was now weakly hitting the door and she lay against it in the bitterly cold snowless night.

  
The wind blew straight through the pair as they ran to her, she was pale, her lips an icy blue. Inmoon stood straight upon seeing her and Vlad knew that they didn’t have long. Inside the house Matei’s screams became the stuff of nightmares as the howls grew louder and rose to shrieks in the night. The shadows moved inside the house with a mind of their own, reaching, clawing, fighting, but it was not the shadows that scared Vlad. It was the things making the noises and he dare not look inside. He tore his gaze away from the glass just as the worst of his father’s screams tore through the night air and a spray of crimson coated the window.  
His mother’s deep sapphire eyes stared into his with a pleading look.

  
“Listen to me Vlad. You have to leave, run.” She seemed to be choking and it broke his young heart to see his dear mother in such a state and it hurt even more to know that this would be the last time he would talk to his mother. “There will be more. The hunger of the Vours’ is insatiable.” She choked again and Vlad’s tears froze on his face. He held tight to his mother, never wanting to let her go ever again. He couldn’t, this was his fault. He had disobeyed her.

  
“We must leave soon.” Inmoon stated and Vlad turned on her.

  
“How could you be so thoughtless Inmoon!? She’s my mother! We can’t leave her, we have to save her, we have to!”

  
“Evil finish feasting soon, They come for us if we not flee Vladislav!” It was the first time she had ever snarled at him. Now he understood why it was scary.

  
“Vlad.” His mother wheezed. “Your friend is right.” She continued to choke. “You must go.”

  
“No…..I….I can’t do it mother.” His eyes started to freeze shut he was crying so much and he furiously struggled to keep his eyes open so as not to lose one second of memory of his dear mother.

  
“Vlad.” Inmoon’s voice was gentler than he had ever heard it. “We show her last kindness. She deserves."

  
The boy looked at her expectantly but there was no hope as he cradled his mother’s head in his lap. Suddenly there was a bone knife thrust into his vision, wielded by Inmoon.  
“Fate of Vours worse than fate of knife. We grant her mercy. Swift death.”

  
The poor boy shook his head at the absolute horror of the situation even more so as he felt a cold hand wrap his own around the blade. She pressed it to her throat and looked into her son’s eyes with not even the barest hint of fear. His grip tightened on the blade as she began to weakly sing.

  
_When the light begins to fade,_  
_And shadows fall across the sea,_  
_One bright star in the evening sky,_  
_Your love's light leads me on my way._

_There's a dream that will not sleep,_  
_A burning hope that will not die._  
_So I must go now with the wind,_  
_And leave you waiting on the tide._

_Time to fly, time to touch the sky._  
_One voice alone - a haunting cry._  
_One song, one star burning bright,_  
_Let it carry me through darkest night._

_Rain comes over the grey hills,_  
_And on the air, a soft goodbye._  
_Hear the song that I sing to you,_  
_When the time has come to fly._

_When I leave and take the wing,_  
_And find the land that fate will bring,_  
_The brightest star in the evening sky,_  
_Is your love waiting far for me_

  
He could tell that Inmoon thought they were taking too long as she shifted uneasily from foot to foot whilst the Vours continued to shriek and his father continued to scream. Aurora took a deep breath and Vlad swiftly slit her throat. Her blood splattered over his hands and chest and face. She was dead in a matter of seconds, her throat slit so deep her spine was half severed.

  
Inmoon quickly grabbed him and dragged him into the woods. He didn’t remember most of the journey through the stinging cold and could only focus on the brightness of his mother’s blood on his hands.

  
The next thing he was aware of was a stinging slap to his face and a worried expression held by Inmoon.

  
“We run!” She sounded scared.

  
So he ran. He ran and ran and ran swallowing his fear like his mother told him. They found a small cave and hid in the back.

  
“I am sorry.” She said after hours of sitting in silence.

  
Vlad just looked her in the eye and gave a small grateful smile. She didn’t talk much and had used most of the extent of her vocabulary tonight. He was all she had now. Twelve years old, he didn’t know what to do. There was a sudden chill and Vlad spun around to entrance of the cave to see only glowing red symbols etched into inky blackness and fierce teeth. He heard the scream of Inmoon and everything grew dark.

**INTERMISSION INTERMISSION! GO GET A COKE OR GO TAKE A PEE INTERMISSION INTERMISSION!!!!!**

  
The aftershocks of a deafening roar of thunder still rocked the house as his face met the hard stone floor. He leaped to his feet and gasped for breath the remnants of the dream still rattling through his brain and every shadow became an enemy in his mind. It was night, he should have been up hours ago, why did no one wake him?

  
“Why do you insist on sleeping upside-down when you know you’re going to have one of these moments? As fun as it is to see you face plant it’s kinda stupid that you aren’t learning.” It was a familiar voice but wholly unexpected and it made him jump.

  
He spun around to the window to see her crouched like some kind of gargoyle and sharpening a small dagger. She was soaked to the bone.

  
“What are you doing out in the rain? Come inside and warm up.” He waved his hand and a fire in the fireplace.

  
She gave out a small bark of laughter.

  
“Alright, but hey I’m no invalid. Just because I’ve been out in the rain doesn’t mean I’m going to drop dead.” They sat down next to each other. “And I came because I knew it was getting close to that time of the year. I knew you’d be having those dreams again.”

 

“Why didn’t anyone wake me up?”

  
“Eh I snuck in through the window, gagged the shrunken head and threw the chatty Kathy in the laundry bin.”

  
Dracula couldn’t help but laugh at that. Those shrunken heads annoyed him too.

  
They sat in companionable silence for a while simply warming themselves. She combed her clawed fingers through her drying fur as Dracula started up the next line of conversation.

  
“Do you see it too?” He turned to look at her.

  
“In the flames?” He nodded and her ears set flat against her head. “Yes but……I don’t know what it means. It could mean a lot of things. Don’t lose your head over it Drac.” She wrapped her cloak back around herself. And handed him a blue rose.

  
Dracula gave her an odd look and noticed that her purple eyes shone with unshed tears.

  
“For her shrine. I thought it would look nice. Thought you’d appreciate it.”

 

“You really thought about this visit didn’t you? Thank you.”

  
The room grew silent as he pressed a stone beside his and Martha’s picture and the wall slid back to reveal a hidden room. He waved his had to light the candles and it reveal a simple jagged bone knife on a stand. There were already several roses placed around the knife and both stood there for a moment before Vlad simply placed the rose in front of the bone knife bowed his head and left.

  
“She was nice, from what I saw.”

  
He gave another short bark of laughter but this time it was empty.

 

“You were too scared to get close to her.”

  
“I know.”

  
“Have to get to my hotel, so many things planned. You’re always welcome you know.”

  
“I know, and you know I don’t do well around people. They confuse me. I’ll see you later.” Without another word she swiftly ran to the window and leaped out.

  
“Goodbye Inmoon.”

  
Just like that she was gone in flash of gleaming silver fur.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is Monster Movie Madness and an unexpected visit quickly turns sour.

It wasn’t something that needed any form of discussion, this was going to happen whether they liked it or not. He couldn’t help but run through plans over and over in his head and just keep thinking about how totally awesome this was going to be.

“Never?” Johnny gasped gaping at the menacing figures before him.

“No….” Dracula answered hesitantly. “Is that a problem?”

“Monsters….who haven’t seen a creature feature? Are you kidding me?! It’s totally movie time man!”

The group of monsters looked at each other with unsure expressions painted on their faces. They may have allowed Johnny to stay and live with them and even date Mavis but that didn’t mean that they had gotten over their fear of humans. Dracula and Frankenstein especially so. Sitting down and watching a human’s point of view of them didn’t sound all too thrilling. Apparently a lot of monster movies had been made over the centuries and even more books written. They were sorely tempted to say no but the look on Johnny’s face told all of them that no was not an option. That didn’t stop them from trying though.

“Johnny, I have a hotel that I need to take care of. I have no time for these things.” Came Dracula’s response.

“Yeah, and I was going to try and take a nap, kids really were a nightmare last night. Gotta sleep while I can.” Wayne put out.

Griffin’s glasses stealthily started to disappear.

“Guys come on!” Mavis blurted out. “Honestly they’re kinda funny.”

“Hey, I showed you the best ones! They were kinda scary…..kinda…..okay now that I look at it they are funny.” Johnny shuffled his feet and pouted a bit.

“You could use a little down time.” She put on a grin and gave her father a pointed look.

He opened his own mouth to argue but at the look he received from Mavis, clamped it shut with an audible snap. That was the scariest look he had ever received from her. At a glance out of the corner of his eye he saw that Wayne, Frank, and Murray had all backed away a small distance and Griffin’s glasses had completely disappeared. Traitors! He glared at them and they all faked innocence, he even heard Griffin whistling. Johnny laughed, they’d all get it from him later.

“Come on dudes we got that new T.V. and D.V.D player when this place got electricity. Let’s go. This is awesome!” Johnny ran off like greased lightning, his excited yells fading down the hall.

Mavis giggled in response and walked after. They all knew where they were headed so every monster went at their own pace. Dracula himself fell behind a fair distance as he considered just running off to care for his hotel. He had a lot of guests and it was still fairly early into the monster vacation season rush. He didn’t really like the idea of running out on his guests.

“Hey!” The harsh whisper was followed by a hand on his shoulder.

He let out a startled shout and turned around swinging his unsheathed talons through the air. They caught on black fabric, tearing easily through as the cloaked person leaped away. Purple eyes glared at him from beneath the hood and he let out a tense breath. Before he could speak she snarled in his face baring her sharp teeth and throwing the hood back.

“A human?!” Inmoon growled. “Why is there a human here? This is supposed to be a safe place Vladislav! Have you lost your mind?! Don’t you remember anything that they did to us?! All the reasons we have to be afraid of them!” She snarled and growled but her voice never rose above a whisper.

Dracula no longer cared about secrecy like she may have, those last few questions were out of line. His full set of teeth grew pointed and sharp as his eyes turned blood red. The back of his suit tore open with a loud rip and his cape flew off as his wings unfurled behind him, the three inch long clawed tips pointing threateningly down at her. He rose above her and snarled back into her face as he bared his mouth of long dagger like teeth, his jaw grew wider to accommodate. It all took form in less than a second.

“How dare you!” His own accent was worsened by the teeth and any S became a short spit filled hiss as a deep rumble sounded in his chest. “You think that I would simply forget what they,” He spat the word out into her face. “have done to me!? They killed Martha! Mercilessly, and you know they would have killed Mavis if I hadn’t done what I did. I hold no regrets about it either!”

He slammed the clawed tips of his wings into her shoulders, cracking the wall behind her, and Inmoon gave a cry of pain at the surprise attack. Dracula’s wing membranes fanned out beside her as he leaned into the curtain he had constructed. She snarled back into his face and he hit her across the snout with a blow that echoed through the, thankfully, still empty hallway.

“You dare come into my home and say such things to me.” His voice had grown dangerously quiet. “I have my reasons for whatever I do. I have given you no reason to doubt me in the past why do you doubt me now?” Through all of his physical fierceness tears streamed down his face. “Don’t you ever speak of my dear Martha, my _wife_ Inmoon, as if I have forgotten what happened to her that night. As if I have been able to erase her screams from my memory. I will never forget!”

His wings retracted and folded themselves into more comfortable but still open positions on his back and he stepped back from her. Her wounds healed almost instantly but her head was bowed and eyes downcast in what he knew to be a show of submission and remorse for her cruel words. His physical features did not change as he simply stared into space.

“I know what it feels like to lose love Inmoon.” He said. “I will not put such a curse upon my own daughter. I want nothing but her happiness, and if her love lies with a human then I will not force her away from him.” He heard Inmoon’s startled gasp behind him. “He is a good man of this I do not doubt. If you harm him Inmoon….” He couldn’t finish the threat but she knew it was not an empty one.

“I’m sorry Vlad. I….I didn’t know that him a…and Mavis had…..zinged. It must be painful for you to smell that distinctly human smell in your sanctuary, your safe haven. It scared me, Vlad, smelling that here. I thought that a….hunter” Drac stiffened at the very word, she laid a comforting hand to his shoulder. “had gotten in somehow. I traced the scent to the boy but he was talking with you. I knew then you had let him in but I did not yearn to know the reason why. I allowed my anger to control me and I am sorry. You have my word I will not hurt the boy.”

His features softened back into the friendly face most saw and his wings molded themselves painfully to his back making them wholly unseen, it was a pain he had learned to live with constantly. He had begun hiding his wings in an effort to remain hidden from humans and so no other monsters had seen them, or his more fearsome form. He despised the limbs on his back just another reminder of what he was and why he had lost Martha. They were hideous things, he was hideous.

“His name is Johnny.” His voice was soft and sad. “You could meet him if you want, he won’t hurt you. He wouldn’t hurt anyone…….I think.”

“You still have doubts?”

“He is _human_ Inmoon. I will always have doubts. I will always be afraid of them, of him. I wish I could just run away and hide whenever I catch his scent. Sometimes I do, and no one can ever know. It would break Mavis’s heart to know that and it would hurt Johnny deeply. He is a gentle soul, too gentle to live a monster’s life but it is the one he has chosen.”

He waved his hand and the tears in his suit were sealed and the cape resettled perfectly onto his back. With another wave of his hand Inmoon’s own cloak was repaired and a silence settled firmly into place.

“So, movie night?” Her confused expression was so comical he laughed. “Not funny Vlad.” She growled warningly.

“Heh, forgive me my friend. Sometimes I forget that you are more distanced than I am. A movie is a book where you watch the story instead of read it.” At her look of sheer wonder he doubled over laughing.

She snarled and kicked him in the hip half heartedly. He stood up with a look of mock hurt on his face. She stuck her tongue out at him. He poked her on the nose. She flicked his ear and he would have retaliated but by that point in time neither one could hold back their laughter and fell into an embarrassing giggle fit.

“Why do I always have to come visit you huh?” She asked as she readjusted the necklace of long thin teeth around her neck, each one with several symbols and markings seemingly carved into it.

“Because until now I have had a daughter to look after and you are too much of a hermit to even meet her.”

“Yeah, I guess that does present a small problem doesn’t it?”

“Yes. Yes it did.” His use of the past tense didn’t go unnoticed by Inmoon and her silver tail began to wag behind her.

But before anything else could be said, he suddenly turned, grabbed her, and launched her into the rafters. Her claws dug deep to find purchase and she scrambled through the wood and stone support beams to find a proper perch. Dracula carried on waking and less than a minute after he had thrown Inmoon into the rafters Johnny and Wayne came running around the corner behind them. He turned around and faked surprise at seeing them.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

**More than a Few Minutes Ago:**

Everyone sat and impatiently waited for Dracula, the group had noticed him lagging behind but they figured he wouldn’t skip out on something his little Mavy-Wavy wanted him to do so badly. It was, after all, she who had come up and initiated the conversation that led to this impromptu monster movie marathon.

“I’m sure he just got hung up by the maids or the enchanted armor suits, both, or something else. We’ll just go find him.” Frank told her as he rose from his chair.

Everyone shuffled out of the room to look for, as Griffin put it, “that stupid workaholic control freak”. Everyone was a little annoyed with him, but he really did need to learn a bit more about taking days off, or relaxing. Johnny found himself wandering down the same path he had taken to get to their home theatre room when he heard what sounded like yelling echoing through the corridor. He slowed his pace a bit, he didn’t want to wind up in the middle of two monsters having some kind of argument. He still continued walking down the hallway. He stopped altogether when he heard the slam of flesh to stone and the loud crack of rock. He heard a snarl and another powerful sounding blow followed it and then there was an eerie silence. He quickly found a suit of armor and told them to find Wayne or Frank, or somebody and then he ran back to see if maybe he could do something about the fight going on.

He ran back to where he had been and continued cautiously from there, he even took off his shoes just in case it was better he go unseen. He was pretty good at being sneaky he discovered, alright Mavis had totally given him ninja lessons but still! As he got closer he heard a voice filled with absolute rage, what’s worse was that he recognized it. It was Dracula and he wisely chose to stay hidden around the corner at the end of the hallway. He grew still and listened to what was being said.

“Don’t you ever speak of my dear Martha, my _wife_ Inmoon, as if I have forgotten what happened to her that night. As if I have been able to erase her screams from my memory. I will never forget!”

The only reason he heard Dracula’s dangerously threatening voice was because of the echo the vast hallway created. Johnny was certain he shouldn’t move now. Who was Dracula talking to that had him so angry and dared to talk to him about Martha like that? Johnny felt his own blood boil at the thought of someone suggesting that Drac could ever forget his wife. He had seen the love the vampire still held for the deceased woman first-hand, and the pain he still felt. Where was that suit of armor with somebody who could handle this? If the fight got out of control he couldn’t do anything about it. He quickly returned his attention back to the conversation around the corner and found that the situation had cooled dramatically.

“I know what it feels like to lose love Inmoon.” He said. “I will not put such a curse upon my own daughter. I want nothing but her happiness, and if her love lies with a human then I will not force her away from him.”

It sounded as if this person was Drac’s friend but Johnny had never heard anyone mention the name Inmoon before. It sounded strange, even for a monster name. Now he was uber confused.

“He is a good man of this I do not doubt. If you harm him Inmoon….” Drac grew angry and threatening again but his voice choked as if he couldn’t bring himself to finish such a threat.

This person was Drac’s friend. He had heard him threaten more than a few monsters and Mavis had told him even more stories about her father’s anger, when he was truly angry that is. Johnny could tell that this was one of those times to be very afraid of the Undead King.

“I’m sorry Vlad. I….I didn’t know that him a…and Mavis had…..zinged. It must be painful for you to smell that distinctly human smell in your sanctuary, your safe haven. It scared me, Vlad, smelling that here. I thought that a….hunter had gotten in somehow. I traced the scent to the boy but he was talking with you. I knew then you had let him in but I did not yearn to know the reason why. I allowed my anger to control me and I am sorry. You have my word I will not hurt the boy.” The voice held the same ancient accent that Dracula’s did but the voice was strong, smooth, rich and very feminine.

“His name is Johnny.” His voice was soft and sad and in turn it made Johnny sad. “You could meet him if you want, he won’t hurt you. He wouldn’t hurt anyone…….I think.”

Johnny’s heart plummeted, think? What did Drac mean think? Of course he would never hurt anyone here. How could Drac think of him in such a way? Johnny found himself trying not to cry.

“You still have doubts?” Inmoon sounded very surprised, Johnny didn’t even know why he was still listening.

“He is _human_ Inmoon. I will always have doubts. I will always be afraid of them, of him. I wish I could just run away and hide whenever I catch his scent. Sometimes I do, and no one can ever know. It would break Mavis’s heart to know that and it would hurt Johnny deeply. He is a gentle soul, too gentle to live a monster’s life but it is the one he has chosen.”

At this point Johnny walked away as quietly as he could and back to his shoes. On the way he tried to process the information he had just overheard. It left him….well he wasn’t sure how he was feeling. Dracula was that afraid of him? He was afraid enough to run away at catching his scent, to hide? He remembered a few times they had been unable to find Dracula for periods of time but….could Dracula have been hiding from him those times? He understood that the vampire cared for him but that didn’t take away the hurt. He had already had a few “therapy” sessions, as he called them (more like confessions of outright fear) from pretty much every monster he had come across and he had been able to lay their fears about him to rest. With more than a few of these talks to Wayne, Frank, Griffin, Murray and their wives under his belt they had all told him that they felt much better about having him around.

Once he reached his shoes he slipped them on casually and kept walking. But Dracula had never seemed afraid of him. With the others they all had little tells and sometimes he had just asked them outright. He had never felt the need to try and do the same with Dracula. The Vampire had never jumped at his out-of-the-blue shouting and had never turned to run when he was racing down a hallway toward him. Dracula had been nothing but kind to Johnny. Now he felt guilty for not realizing that Dracula too was still very much afraid of him though, just like everyone else, he didn’t want to be.

“Johnny!” Wayne’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “Where’s the fight?”

Oh yeah……he had sent a suit of armor to fetch the others. Well, since things had quieted down Dracula was sure to hear them coming. “About time but the yelling and stuff stopped. It’s this way though.” So, Johnny took off at a run back down the hallway.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

**Congratulations, You Are Now Up To Speed:**

“Hey yo Drac!” Wayne yelled. “Johnny here says he heard a fight after we went out looking for you. Sent a suit of armor to come get us and said the fight had gotten physical. Dracula looked only slightly startled…….at least to Johnny anyway. “You okay Drac?”

“Nonsense Wayne I am fine. Now, what is this about a fight? I have not heard anything.”

“Have you gone deaf Drac? If Johnny heard it-” Wayne stopped mid-sentence as he leaned around the Count whose eyes had widened ever so slightly. “Drac, how could you not notice that?!” His clawed hand pointed behind Dracula and directly at a small crater in the wall, spider-webbed with deep cracks. Now the Count’s eyes were noticeably widened as he stared at the indentation he had made in the wall when he shoved Inmoon into it. Just a love-tap really and she knew it. If he had really been wanting to hurt her she would have been thrown clean through a couple of walls.

Johnny had to do something for the poor Vampire, give him some time to think up a proper explanation. Fortunately, he was unintentionally providing a perfect out for himself.

“Dracula?” That time the Vampire was visibly startled by his voice. “Dude, you don’t look so hot. All the color is coming back into your face. It’s kinda worrying me man I think you need to lie down.”

It worked.

“Man, you’re shaking like a leaf.” Wayne’s attention was drawn to Dracula and his sickly demeanor. “Have you drunken anything today?” At Dracula’s vacant look and stumbling over beginning a simple sentence Wayne let out a small growl and his shoulders sagged in annoyance. “Again?” A pause. “Really? You know you make yourself sick when you don’t eat and run all over the hotel doing your perfectionist thing, and eventually you start hallucinating. Not in the mood for that again buddy. Let’s go!”

With that Wayne snagged the still stuttering Vampire by the back of his cape and began half dragging him back, ignoring the man’s protests as he got tangled in the black fabric. It was kind of funny and Johnny would have outright laughed if he wasn’t trying to think of a way to talk to Dracula about the whole ‘afraid of him’ thing. Maybe this time he ought to ask for help. Knowing Dracula he’d shrug off Johnny’s concerns and tell him everything was fine.

“We found him.” Wayne said as the three passed by a hallway where Mavis, Murray, Frank and Griffin all stood.

Their eyes widened at the sight of Dracula, still tangled in his cape, being mercilessly towed behind the very annoyed looking werewolf.

“Hi.” Johnny said as he followed Wayne. “Mavis I think you should go get your dad some blood. Been running on empty all day.”

“Again?”

“Yup.”

“Fut, căcănar, balcoane, curvă!!!!” With a loud shout the Vampire Lord came to a dead halt with the cape still wrapped around his face and everyone openly stared at him. “I am not moving one more step until I can see!!!!” His voice thundered through the hallway. Wayne just dropped the cape, still staring.

“What’d he say?” Mavis asked confused. “I’ve never heard those words before.”

“Honey…..obviously your dad didn’t teach you everything in Romanian.” Johnny whispered.

“But what’d he say?” At this point in time the infamous Count Dracula had finally won the battle with his cape which was settled back into its place behind him.

“I’d rather not repeat it…..”

It suddenly dawned on her that her father had been rattling off more than a few curse words and she stared at him for a bit before speaking. “Alright, yeah…….blood, you guys get him sitting down. You can start the movies, I’ve seen them.”With that said she turned into a bat and flew away.

“……Nice going.” Frank glared at him.

“Well, it’s not like she knew what they meant and she isn’t the type of person to just repeat something if she doesn’t know what it means. Besides, you should not have been yanking my cape over my face!” He jabbed a long talon in Wayne’s face.

“Let’s just get back you drama addicted idiots.” Griffin’s voice flew into the fray and everyone quickly agreed.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKALMOSTDONEIPROMISEIWONDERIFANYONEISGOINGTOTRYANDREADTHISPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

The laughter in the room was almost deafening.

“Oh my god this is TOO hilarious!”

“Oh his freaking FACE came apart!”

“Why doesn’t YOUR face come apart Frank?”

“NOT FUNNY!”

“YES IT IS!!!!”

“Dawwwww dude they knocked you out.”

“You know that’s not really me right?”

“Shhhhhhhh!”

“Really?”

**A Few More Minutes Into the Movie:**

“BOOOOOOOO!!!! NO ONE LOVES YOU VAN HELSING!!!!”

 **On With the Movie** :

“Oh this scene is kinda cool.”

“Shhhh!”

“I’m just saying the lines here are awesome!”

“Shut your face man!”

(mumble mumble

) “Really Drac?! Fine say what you want to say.”

“…..I’ve done that.”

“……..”

“……..”

“…….”

“Really?"

“Pretty much word for word.”

“Dance to the beat of their-”

“I said yes.”

“That is funny.”

“Awesome scene now made hilarious! Thank you Drac!”

**Can You Guess The Movie:**

“That werewolf is pretty mangy looking.”

“Hrrmph.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“The movie screen is OVER THERE!!!!!!!”

“Tell me Wayne…..at the stroke of midnight does Dracula control you?”

“Wayne…..look deep into my eyes.”

“SO not funny.”

**I’m Sure the Readers Know What Movie This is Now:**

“Oh my god ALL OF THEM are vampires!”

“Awesome!” “Whoo-hoo!!”

“Dawwww man Drac why’d you have to let yourself get set on fire?!”

“Oh man look look look he is slaughtering that fire breather in the background.”

**And a little more...**

“Wayne…..why are you looking at me like that?” “DO you have a cure???”

“OF COURSE NOT STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE I’M GOING TO EAT YOUR FACE!”

“…….”

“STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!”

“……..”

“NOT YOU GUYS TOO! STOP IT!!!”

**Last Bit:**

“Drac……he killed you.”

“……”

“I mean he freaking tore out your throat…..killed you.”

“That fight was epic though.”

“But, Van Helsing Killed Dracula. That’s a suckish ending.”

“Man did you see yourself get dusted?”

“……”

“It wasn’t even a quick PAF! I mean it was a slow dissolve…”

“…….”

“Your flesh just kinda…. _creeped_ away.”

“BOO!”

“AUGH!”

“Not funny Johnny. Dad! It was just Johnny unstick yourself from the ceiling. Frank Johnny that was mean!”

“But it was funny wasn’t it?!”

"Next movie I think should definitely be Hollow Man!"


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Hotel gets some unexpected guests and Inmoon does a thing.

Okay, so monster movie madness? Total success, it was awesome! Everyone had a good time…..well after the whole search for Dracula thing. Johnny still couldn’t get that conversation he overheard out of his head. He didn’t know how to broach the subject without letting Dracula know that he overheard that little spat.

He was tempted to ask someone for help, but who? Mavis was out, her dad had been right about the fact that it would hurt her. He wasn’t sure if he could trust anyone else with the full information and they would know if he was keeping something from them. Plus there was no way to tell anyone without having to also inform them about Dracula’s friend Inmoon. If no one else knew about her yet it was because Dracula had chosen to keep her a secret for some reason or another.

Things were not allowed to be so difficult right now. His head was spinning with thoughts, ideas and all the reasons those ideas wouldn’t work.

It was odd walking around the hotel during the day, when not a soul was in sight but Johnny couldn’t sleep. He had to find some way to fix this. He wandered for hours as he thought and all sense of time escaped him and he would have continued like that had the ringing of his phone not echoed through the hallway. He jumped and fished it out of his pocket, continuing to walk as he answered.

“Yo.”

“Hey dude! It’s Lawrence and the rest of the old band is here too!”

Johnny winced and held the phone a small distance away from his ear as the four people shouted their greetings into the phone.

“Wow, I like haven’t heard from you guys in forever!” Johnny’s mood lightened considerably.

“Yeah, I know right! Anyway me and the rest of the band totally went to film school together and we were watching the news. We saw what happened in Transylvania dude, totally righteous!! We like, couldn’t believe it dude! They’re real! Anyway, we’re coming over to the hotel to film a documentary! I know awesome right!? We’ll be there by sundown man! Can’t wait, see ya dude!!!!!”

Oh this was bad, this was very bad!

“Hey, wait Lawrence dude!” Johnny tried to talk him out of it but the only thing that greeted him was a dial tone. “Dawwwww man…..What do I do now?”

The monsters were still getting used to having Johnny around, and now his friends were going to be here? Filming a documentary?! Oh no. He ran to a window and threw open the curtains to see the sun already sinking closer to the horizon. Sundown would be in less than an hour. A cold panic settled in his gut as he quickly closed the curtains and took off through the hotel at a dead run.

“DRACULA!!!!!” His slightly panicked voice carried through the empty corridors of the hotel.

He bolted up to the Vampire’s room as fast as he could and threw the door open with a resounding boom. He flipped around and slammed the doors closed drenching the room in darkness.

“Dracula!” He could barely see the vampire’s coffin illuminated by the sparse candlelight scattered around the room.

It was odd watching the centuries year old monster wake up. The man never startled awake, his eyes would just open and he would sit up after opening the coffin lid. Johnny waited a few seconds for Dracula to open the coffin and sit up. He could barely see the white fingers curl around the bottom edge of the lid. The long nails reflecting the candlelight eerily. There was no groan from the hinges, the lid slid open silently. He sat up slowly, long fingers curled elegantly around the edge of the coffin and his bare pale chest gave him a ghostly appearance in the darkness.

He turned his head to look at Johnny, his normally neatly combed hair was mussed and his eyes reflected the dim candlelight like a cat’s, two beacons of blue in the surrounding shadows.

“Johnny?” He asked as he stood from his coffin, placing bare feet on the floor and looking at the boy with a confused expression. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Johnny held up a hand as he gasped for breath, the run up here had stolen the air from his lungs. As soon as he had regained his breath he spoke.

“I just got a call from my old band. Drac, they’re coming here! Tonight!”

“WHAT!?” Oh he was definitely awake now. “What do you mean they’re coming here?! How do you know this?!”

“They….kinda called me.”

“And you didn’t tell them to go away!!? How do they even know where you are?!”

“I didn’t get the chance dude! Lawrence hung up on me. Plus, Zac is kinda a tech wizard....probably traced my phone's GPS.” Johnny explained with a sheepish grin.

With a flick of his wrist Dracula was dressed and his hair combed neatly. He leaned heavily against his coffin after closing the lid and sighed heavily.

“Why are they coming here? What do they want?”

“Hey, chill Drac. They’re not going to hurt anyone, and I wouldn’t let them anyway. They said they wanted to film a documentary about you guys.”

There was a long pause, the weight of this new information settling on Dracula’s shoulders.

“When will they be here?”

“Lawrence said sundown but probably a little after the moon rises knowing him. He’s always a little late.”

“…..Then we have to prepare everyone.”

He straightened and moved to the door. Once he exited into the hallway he found a suit of armor and ordered him to begin waking up the guests and have them come down to the lobby. He had to warn them, more humans showing up could cause a panic and he had to take measures to prevent that. Maybe set up security, both for the monster’s safety and for the safety of the humans.

**PAGEBREAKTHEMOVIEI’MWATCHINGISAWESOMEPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

_Location: Unknown_

Inmoon hated this place, she hated coming here, the horrible cold and darkness seeping into her bones was the worst feeling she had ever felt. If you listened hard enough here you could just barely hear the furious screeches and a steady pounding like drums in the deep corners of this evil place.

But she could not abandon her duties as Gatekeeper so she pressed further into the suffocating cavern.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKTHAT’SNOTOMINOUSATALLPAGEBREAKGOODBYE**

Dracula put on a calm façade as he stood at the top of the stairs attempting to quiet the frightened guests. They had quickly spiraled into a slight panic before Dracula even had a chance to fully explain.

“Calm down everyone!” He shouted. “There is no reason to panic. These humans will harm no one I will make sure of this! We all knew this was going to happen when we allowed Johnny to stay.”

“When will they be here Drac?” Murray asked.

“They will be here by nightfall. They are Johnny’s friends,” Johnny waved at the monsters from his hiding place behind Dracula. All you saw of the man was a waving hand and then it promptly disappeared. “and are filming a documentary. Security will be updated and no one will harm them. I don’t want an incident that could rekindle the humans’ anger toward us.”

It took some time but eventually the guests settled down and accepted the idea, they were still nervous but they were no longer in a panic. Dracula paced the room trying to think of something to make the night less stressful for everyone. A chaotic night wouldn’t help matters much at all so what event could he organize that could be easily controlled.

“How about a dinner?” Griffin’s voice broke through his thoughts. He turned to look at the glasses confusedly. “You that oh-god-what-do-I-do look on your face.”

It really was scary how well Griffin knew people. A dinner sounded great, so he moved off to get one set up as fast and efficiently as he could.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

_Location: Unknown_

The firelight only illuminated a small bit of the immense cavern Inmoon was in and she drank in the warmth of it before beginning the ceremony. She took her knife to her palm splattering the blood around the fire and herself in a circle before flicking the last on the fire and allowing the wound to heal. She took various plants, bone dust and animal parts holding each to her painted face and whispering a chant before tossing them to the flames. She threw sage, ground deer antler, hawk talons, ox hoof, nightshade, a tooth akin to those around her neck, and human blood to the flames as she chanted and rocked.

The cavern vibrated and pulsed from the energy of her ceremony. She swayed this way and that to her rhythmic chanting as her own voice seemed to overlap itself and the world around her seemed to spin away. She threw her head back and gasped opening eyes that had become a swirling storm of purple. As the cavern thudded with every beat of her heart the reason she came here appeared before her.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKNOWWEGETINTOITPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

Okay, everything was in its proper place, the tables were set in the dining hall, a room was set aside on the far end of the hotel with suits of armor stationed there, and Johnny was helping to prepare a few human dishes. Even though it seemed everything was going to go off without a hitch, Dracula had this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was going to go wrong tonight. He was terrified, though he would admit it to no one.

There was something nagging at him, some instinct in the back of his mind screaming at him to take everyone and run, run and hide and be quiet. He did his best to ignore it but he couldn’t push the feeling away completely.

Instead he focused on doing his job and making sure everyone in the hotel was comfortable and that everything was running smoothly. He had just managed to work himself into a somewhat calm state when Johnny’s friends arrived, huge smiles decorating their faces and a good sized camera in tow. That human smell hit him like a smack in the face but he choked down his hiss as he and Mavis went to welcome them to the hotel.

The four were shown to their rooms and informed about the dinner being held, Johnny showed up and the room got pretty noisy pretty fast. Johnny introduced Mavis and decided to give everyone the grand tour. Dracula, of course tagged along. He wasn’t about to just go off and leave his daughter with a group of _humans_ he didn’t know!

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKI’MSOSLEEPYPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

Inmoon ran, down on all fours she ran with a cold panic in her belly urging her to move faster with every second. Pure fear filled every corner of her mind as she ran so fast her surroundings were naught but a blur. Only one coherent thought made it through the panic and it consumed her.

“ _I have to get Vlad. I have to tell Vlad. He’ll know what to do.”_

She would be at his hotel within the night and she could only pray that she had discovered this fast enough to fix it. Fix it or warn people and help them hide while she and Vlad and everyone else fought those things again.

They were the only things in existence she was truly afraid of and she begged everything in creation that she did not have to face them again.

But all she could do was run as fast as she could.

 


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Inmoon plays party crasher, fails at first impressions and everyone gets to work on their cardio.

The dinner was tense to say the least, though Dracula had done a good job at keeping everyone from panicking and it was a bit of a relief to be able to sit and rest. So, he sat at the table leisurely sipping on a wine glass of blood substitute and listened to the excited chatter rattling around the table from their new guests. Apparently the group of them had quite a few interesting adventures since Johnny left to travel the world.

Johnny’s friends were slowly making their way around the table running through interviews with everyone there. The only thing that had gone wrong so far was when Lawrence, the idiot he was, tried to light up a cigarette. Emphasis on _tried_. It took forever to calm poor Frank, and then more time to set up the dining hall again. Lawrence felt pretty awful about that, though Gemma just kept telling him it was awesome footage.

Dracula was crazy paranoid; he was more on edge now than he had been in hundreds of years. That feeling, the need to run, to just leave everything take everyone and run and hide. The itch had grown in intensity until it was no longer an itch, it was a burning need. He could feel it in every fiber of his being and he was afraid. He wanted to know why he was so afraid. He hadn’t felt fear such as this since…..no. No it couldn’t be that. Not…. _that_.

There was no need to think of them, the nameless ones, They of the Void, the devouring evil that never slept and never grew full.

He was done with that and would never again dwell on such things for thinking of an impossibility was useless.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

With a great leap Inmoon flew over the canyon that separated her from the massive hotel that her dear friend Vlad had created. Her blood beat loudly in her ears as her mind filled with horror. She steadied herself on all fours as she looked up the tall stone wall of the hotel. Her ears twitched as she found the sound of the dinner and she ignored the scent of humans, which were not Johnny. Her claws dug deep into the stone fortress and she scaled the outside wall, she quickly found a window and crawled in.

She pulled her cloak close to her body and carefully entered the hallway. She followed her nose to find the dinner party and peeked through the red curtain into the vast room.

Her purple eyes grew wide at the sight of even more humans gathered at a table holding strange devices that Inmoon didn’t bother to try and decipher. She leaped into the rafters and kept her cloak close so her silver fur didn’t reflect the candlelight. Being as quiet as she could she prepared to do what she came here to do.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKYAYCAFFINEPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

Dracula’s mouth was dry, his tongue swollen like cotton, and his mind racing. Every sense was enhanced more than usual, it got that way when adrenaline raced through his cold veins. He focused hard on the need to keep calm and stay in control. His vision switched and swapped and he did everything he could to keep them looking human.

He looked at Johnny, at Lawrence and Gemma and the rest of the humans but the only thing he saw of them was their blood filled veins and their beating hearts. He saw straight through their flesh and bone and that human smell became…..enticing.

His mind was screaming at him to attack, to feed. He needed the strength that human blood gave him for a fight. But…..what fight?

His fight or flight response was taking over. The feeling was taking over but he had to control himself. He took another drink of the blood substitute in his glass and it suddenly tasted foul. Like rotten meat. That’s not what he needed, what he needed was sitting at the other end of the table.

One bite, just one bite couldn’t hurt. Could it? He wanted-no- _needed_ it. He wouldn’t kill them, no. He could control himself. He was Vladislav Dracula after all. He was Shadow itself.

_Plunk_

Something fell in his glass and finally drew him away from the strange instinct that overtook him. Now he was even more scared than he had ever been. He almost lost his control and that had never happened. If he had attacked, no one would have been able to stop him, not even himself. He would have killed them all.

He lifted the glass to his lips and allowed his tongue to lengthen and sweep through the drink. It looked like a long, leisurely sip. His forked tip ran into a small capsule, a silk cocoon, he wrapped his tongue around it and drew it into his mouth. He tasted it carefully then bit down. Immediately a voice echoed in his head.

_I do not have the time to explain in this way. You must leave somewhere no one can see you so that I may speak of what has happened._

Inmoon.

Suddenly Dracula grew annoyed bordering on angry. This was an important meeting, no matter how unimportant the guests were. This meeting was the key to gaining a positive relationship with the human world. Whatever Inmoon wanted it would have to wait.

He stiffened and calmly placed his wine glass back on the table and tilted his right ear toward the rafters above him whilst placing half of his attention on the conversation in front of him. Johnny was being interviewed now and he was telling them the story of how he first came across the hotel and met Dracula and Mavis. The Count couldn’t help but smile at Johnny’s impersonations of everyone.

“Vladislav, I know you can hear me.” Inmoon whispered as loud as she dared from the rafters.

Dracula sighed.

“Vlad rub your right ear if you can hear me.”

Dracula casually did so.

“I knew it! Now, find a way to leave the room or I’ll come down there and have this conversation with you.”

Dracula took a long sip from his glass.

“Vladislav, I’ve never met any of these dear friends of yours and you _know_ how I _love_ to make an impression.”

He nearly choked on his drink at that and set it down quick as he could as he shot up out of seat sending his chair to the floor.

“I…um…need to go…take care of something. Everyone just enjoy yourselves.” He stuttered out nervously with a mixture between an apologetic smile and a pained grimace on his face.

He righted the chair and, with a burst of inhuman speed, ran out of the dining room and right into Inmoon sending them both crashing into a housekeeping cart. Everyone left at the table turned to the sound of the crash and watched as a Witch Maid suddenly got a horrified look and rushed behind the curtain screaming her apologies to Dracula.

They all laughed and returned to their interviews.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

After magically drying himself, Inmoon, the floor, and resetting the cart he quickly shooed away the witch and waited until she was out of sight with her cart to signal Inmoon out of her hiding place. She had immediately jumped into the rafters again to hide after pushing Dracula off of her.

“What is it now? This is a very bad time for this Inmoon.”

“The seal is breaking. The seal on the Gate we made to hold them. The Gate with no name so as to take away the power of a name so no one could hold power over it.”

“……WHAT!?”

The dining hall ran silent.

“WHAT DO YOU MEA-mmmph!” Inmoon quickly silenced him by clamping a hand over his mouth.

They waited a few tense and very silent moments until the conversation in the other room started up again. They waited even longer until the room’s noise level increased a bit more.

They pulled their eyes away from the curtain and back at each other.

“What do you mean its breaking?” He hissed.

“I mean its breaking as in not going to work soon as in kaput, as in _broken_.”

“Inmoon you know what I mean! How could the seal be breaking? That’s impossible.”

“I don’t know Vlad but I saw it for myself and we don’t have much time. The seal will break tonight and Sorry Night is approaching fast. _They_ will break through, and just like last time there will be nothing to hold them back, to force them back into the void. We have to fight again.”

“You’re certain of this?”

“Of course Vlad.”

“They’ve tricked us from beyond the Gate before. What if that’s what this is?”

“You can’t possibly tell me you haven’t seen the omens. Omens of a doom fast approaching. The images in fire, a feeling of pure terror, the need to do nothing but run and hide. A sudden thirst for human blood. I’ve felt this! You went farther than any of us and if _I_ can feel it then I _know_ that _you_ can.”

Dracula fell to his knees as the knowledge of what they must face again hit him and stole away his breath. Inmoon fell down beside him as her adrenaline rush faded and weariness settled on her shoulders.

“Open the vault Lord Dracula.”

“We will need to do more than last time if we want to bind them permanently. We cannot risk this again. We cannot risk They of the Void ever truly breaking free. To run the world unhindered and unstopped. It is a thing unthinkable.”

“What?” Frank’s suspicious voice sounded out behind him.

Dracula leaped to his feet and spun around to lay wide eyes upon Frank, Murray, Wayne, Griffin’s glasses, Johnny, Mavis and all of Johnny’s friends. Camera still running and pointed at them.

“Who is that?” Wayne pointed to Inmoon who seemed to be trying melt into Dracula’s back.

He looked back at her with a mild glare and bumped her roughly with his elbow. She gave out a pained grunt and stepped out beside Dracula, her cloak brought close and hiding everything.

“Dad? What’s going on? What were you talking about? What did she mean?” Mavis’s bright blue eyes bore into him and suddenly he froze.

He didn’t know what to do. Should she know? Didn’t she have a right to know what was coming? Didn’t they all?

But they had sworn themselves to secrecy after the fact. They could talk about it with only each other, only the six of them were ever to know. That was the vow.

Now he didn’t know if he could keep it.

Inmoon snarled at him and that snapped him out of his thoughts.

“And Drac, what did she mean ‘thirst for human blood’?” Dracula’s eye twitched, leave it to Griffin to ask that question.

“Its all… _very_ difficult to explain.” He stumbled over his words.

“Difficult how? Drac if the blood substitute isn’t working like it should-”

Inmoon quickly cut Frank off.

“The point my dear old friend is trying to make is that we have to go. Now and you do not need to know why.”

Dracula slapped a hand over his eyes and hung his head.

“Of course we need to know why!” Frank yelled. “From what we heard something is seriously wrong here. The least you can tell us, Drac, is how long you’ll be gone.” He looked over her to address the Count.

“Indefinitely. Goodbye.”

Dracula couldn’t help but wince at that.

“Oh no! You are not leaving here until we get some answers!” Frank roared and everyone else threw in agreements as they advanced on her.

“Oh just try and stop-yipe!” Inmoon yipped loudly as Dracula grabbed her by the hood of her cloak and yanked her backwards off her feet.

“There is no way in hell I am allowing you to start a fight with my friends.” He hissed at her when she had regained her balance.

Everyone else just stood staring at her, and Wayne couldn’t help but be afraid. Silver was the color of death after all.

“This,” He waved toward the group. “is why _I_ do the talking! Not you, never you because I can do people and you can’t. So, shut your face before you make this worse. I can’t imagine how it could get worse but I’m certain that _you_ could accomplish that!”

“This is awesome Zac, keep rolling get everything.” Gemma whispered to the black haired man holding the camera.

“Drac, I think its explanation time.” Murray said.

“Not one word.” Dracula hissed angrily at Inmoon then turned back toward the group. “Unfortunately Lady Inmoon is right-not a word-” He jabbed a finger in her face. “I have to go. You cannot come with me. I do not know when I will return and we promised to tell no one about this….specific…situation.”

“Promised?” Johnny asked.

“Well…..it was more of a…..blood oath.”

“WHAT?!” Was the collective response.

“Well, time’s a wasting gotta go now bye bye!”

Both him and Inmoon took off down the hallway leaving a stunned group standing there for a few seconds before the rest of them took off after the two. Jonny and his friends fell pitifully behind the chase.

“Oh, so _that_ was your grand master plan Vlad!? Nice going!”

“Shut up and run!”

“They’re right behind us!”

“I KNOW!!!”

“Dracula get back here!” Wayne shouted.

“You’re in trouble.” Inmoon giggled.

“I am not above hitting you.”

The two of them rushed through the hotel and into his room. He lifted his coffin and threw it across the room pushing a stone into the ground as he did so. A spiral staircase opened up that descended into blackness. Inmoon remained while Dracula raced down the stairs. In a few seconds he was back with a long object wrapped in cloth strapped to his back. The staircase closed the moment he was back.

They ran as quickly as they could for the front door but Frank and Mavis had thought to take everyone there first to try and stop Dracula from leaving. Johnny apparently thought to go there before the others because there the camera crew was, filming everything.

“Dracula, I think everyone deserves and explanation.” Jonny was ever the peacemaker.

“I think so too but you aren’t getting one and no one is coming with us.”

“Why not?”

“Because dying is a rather high possibility.”

“Whoa whoa! Drac, buddy if you think that we’re going to let you go-” Dracula cut off Frank with a shout.

“ENOUGH!!!!” His shout sounded more like an animalistic roar.

 A pair of massive wings stretched out from his back and everyone gasped in surprise. The top sections of his wings split open where his own bone protruded from the flesh to form sharp blades that could cut through nearly everything.

He extended his wings as fully as he could and when he looked back at his daughter his eyes were pitch black and his voice seemed to be the same voice whispering and speaking at the same time. His teeth lengthened, all of them, and it was horrifying. But he still looked sad.

“I am sorry Mavis but I have to go. I am uncertain if I will return and if I do not then I am truly sorry and, though I know I have no right to ask anything of you, I request that you care for the hotel and I ask that you rule our kind in my stead. I Love you my dear and that will never change. Goodbye.”

Before anyone could react he flapped those massive wings sending out a gust of wind that blew out all of the candles and torches that lit the lobby sending the room into darkness for a few short seconds.

By the time the magical charm that relit the candles kicked in Dracula and Inmoon were long gone.

 


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which bad habits reappear along with bad table manners, Drac and Inmoon have a serious chat, and the author wastes an entire day of her life trying to translate crappy latin.

“ _Consaluto ab Corviscordis. Consaluto ab Bimaris indomitus. Consaluto ab Cratera polleo. Consaluto ab Tellus aeternitas, nostri Regina beneficus. Consaluto ab Anima asperatis, adsecula ab nostri Amplus Basilicus ab Cunctus Servator.”_

The steady rhythm of voices pounded and thrummed power through the freezing night air. The wailing and screeching grew louder and louder as blood splashed across the ground but the Six stood strong and never weakened. Their voices rose and the runes on the stones surrounding them pulsed with a strange light.

“ _Consaluto. Consaluto! Accipio nostri Amplus Dynastes! Accipio nostri oro ab vas. Datum nostri vestertra divinitas. Suemus, ab Columna mendico vas! Suemus, ab Columna adoleo.”_

The shrieking in the blackness pierced through their bones bringing pain beyond imagining, but they stood fast as blood filled their lungs and they remained starved of air long past the point where they should have died. The crimson bubbled and flowed past their lips but their voices rung clear. The stars went out and the night became black. A few short seconds of deep black occurred and then the lands were bathed in a red glow when the moon began to bleed. Each one spoke their lines in turn.

_“Ab Tellus.”_

The ground crackled and came alive around them. The earth moved, and reached, and screeched at the evil. The lands and all animals of it fought beside them now.

_“Ab Aqua.”_

The sea laying at rest below the ledge they stood on took form and beat itself upon the mountain to reach them and drown the evil it came across. All manner of sea life circled the island calling to the six upon the mountainside.

_“Ab Inigmus.”_

The mountain burst ash and flaming stones hurling them on the enemies and never harming the six sacrifices that rested on its side. Lava formed around them and hardened into a firm rock wall that evolved into a dome. The evil pounded on the rock but it would not yield. The Pillars were safe to focus and finish.

_“Ab Anima.”_

A great gale rose up outside the dome and lifted rocks farther, flew fish higher, helped animals run faster. Inside the dome the air twisted and swirled around the six. Blood flew into the air seeming to turn it red. The floor, the sides of the shield formed around them, and the stones around them, the Key Stones, turned red with blood. Two began to speak as the rest focused their powers.

_“Ab Divinitas Occulo.”_

A new power thrummed through the air and the evil beat themselves upon the rock, growing more desperate as each second passed. The last two spoke their lines in turn.

“ _Ab Spiritus.”_

A great glow flowed from the six, each color unique to the person. The colors took shape and a voice of their own as they flew with the wind swirling inside the dome.

_“Ab Opacus.”_

A great black shadow rose from the center of their circle, swirling and twisting violently. Each of the six shapes formed from their auras dove into the blackness and it violently exploded out of the top of the dome. The violent tornado of shade, swirling with the colors of their auras, sucking in water, lava, earth, and air as it climbed higher and higher. The six voices pierced through the noise and became everything in the night and would be remembered by none.

_“Suemus adoleo. Suemus, ab Columna oppignero noster. Accipio nostri. Accipio nostri! ACCIPIO NOSTRI!”_

With that final deafening cry the ground inside the circle crumbled away taking the flame, shadow, rock, water, aura familiars, and the great gale that had arisen. The evil was pulled down and the mountain tumbled down around them. There was a great explosion that sent the six flying away from the crumbling mountain and laying in a thick puddle of their own blood.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKWOWZERSTHATKINDAFREAKYPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

Dracula shook his head free of those thoughts, he forbade himself from ever thinking of that again or fear would take over and he would hide throughout everything to come. But he still couldn’t push the thirst away. His mouth was dry and he needed to feed. He knew what he needed but he had promised himself that he would never do that again. The blood substitute took hundreds of years to make and worked just as well. He no longer had a need to hunt. No longer had a need for human blood, and he didn’t like to kill. He hated it, because killing without mercy was the sign of a true monster.

His wings carried him through the cool night air and he breathed deep the scent of the night. Below him Inmoon had shed her coat and placed it in her pack and she was keeping perfect pace with him. Her silver fur sparkled beneath the light of the moon and he thought what he always thought when he saw her like that.

_“She’s so beautiful.”_

He felt horrid every time he thought that, he felt like he had betrayed Martha who was loyal to him throughout their long marriage. She was loyal, and sweet, and loved him with everything that she had often times more than she had. How could he do this to her!? He tore his gaze away from Inmoon with a snarl and focused on the horizon. He could keep track of her just fine by listening to her footfalls below him, which had suddenly stopped.

He looked down and saw her standing in a small opening in the trees. He turned and circled her in an attempt to figure out her intentions. She looked up at him and waved for him to land. He closed his wings and dove into the clearing, unfurling them just in time to slow his fall and land gently on the forest floor. It was safe to stop now. They were a good distance away from the hotel now and there was no way that anyone would be able to track Inmoon. The Werewolf was the only one that knew how to leave no trace on the ground she walked upon. Hell, anyone who could track Inmoon deserved some kind of award; he’d think one up later.

“You can’t keep your promise.” She told him, she seemed….hesitant.

Interesting. He tilted his head in question.

“You _need_ human blood.”

“No.” He turned away but she grabbed his wing and held on despite the blood dripping from her palm.

He gave her a hiss as he turned his black eyes on her.

“Cut it out Vlad. You know that human blood puts you at full strength. You’re faster, stronger, you heal. You can’t be killed by a stake through the heart, your allergy to garlic is gone, they can’t even cut off your head to kill you! You need human blood!”

“I said no Inmoon! I’m done with that. It’s why I created the blood substitute!”

“But it’s just that Vlad, a substitute. It can’t give you everything the real stuff can. All that does is quench your thirst and slowly weaken you!”

“I don’t care!”

“Well then I’ll care for you Lord Dracula! You cannot be weak! Not now! You don’t have a choice and I’ll do what it takes to make you feed!”

He glared at her, a fearsome look and the shadows grew deeper, darker and they hissed at her.

“I know you regret that night Vlad.” She stared into his coal black eyes. “You lied and I know it. I know you scared yourself, you terrified yourself and now you’re too disgusted to look at yourself. That’s not going to happen again. You must do this and after this you won’t have to anymore. You won’t have to kill.”

“I killed them all Inmoon.” His voice was a whisper and the shadows retreated back into the forest. “Every single one of them because I couldn’t control my anger, my _hatred_ of them. They acted like animals and I slaughtered them like animals! Not just the men, but the women, and the children! A whole village and I killed them without a second thought! I killed for the sake of killing not because of a hunger!”

He turned his gaze away from her and stared at the stars sparkling in the sky.

“I learned that night what a true monster is, and I became one.”

“You were angry Vlad, you were weak.” She gently turned his face back toward her. “But most importantly. You. Were. _Wrong_. Killing for the sake of killing can be many things. You were in a blind rage. You didn’t laugh at their deaths but instead you mourn the people you killed. You _regret_ it. Regret, Vlad, is something monsters don’t do.”

A long silence over took the pair and they simply stared at the grass beneath their feet. The silence was a heavy one but it was comforting as well.

“Alright.” Dracula whispered. “Alright you win. We will hunt.”

Inmoon simply nodded and ran toward the nearest village as Dracula took to the skies once more.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKWHOWANTSGOREPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKIKNEWITPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

He circled high in the sky in his chosen hunting grounds and if he focused hard enough he could just barely see her making her way toward her hunting arena. She agilely scaled the small mountain range and disappeared over its peak. Once there were no distractions left he closed his eyes and breathed deep the scents of the night.

There were cattle and various farm animals. He could smell cars and dogs. He smelled humans and he focused on that. His vision turned into hues of blues and greens and he looked for the red spot that marked a living being.

He flew faster and found a small gathering of campers by the mountain. It wasn’t a breach on Inmoon’s territory either; her’s was on the other side of the mountain.

He rose even higher in dark sky and picked out the perfect target. This needed to look like an animal attack or things could turn very bad very fast. There was a fight among the campers. A man had pushed his wife into their camper in a fit of rage. Two other men ran to her aid and quickly succeeded in driving him away.

He wouldn’t be coming back.

There were stargazers and nature enthusiasts scattered everywhere. They had cameras with night vision and stargazers had telescopes. The sky was a clear one and someone would notice if he attacked from the sky. So, he banked wide and landed a fair distance downwind of his prey. He ran with silent ease through the brush and in a matter of minutes was within eyesight of the man. He could hear the man’s heart beating in his broad chest. Dracula could smell the blood flowing through his veins.

He circled and waited for the opportune moment. Thought’s raced through his head. How could he be doing this again? He swore he never would! But the thirst drove all of those thoughts away and quieted them to the barest hint of a whisper. He settled low to the ground and didn’t move.

The man turned his back and Dracula leaped, his palms wrapped around the man’s neck and he felt it snap on impact. It didn’t kill him, just paralyzed him so he couldn’t struggle or scream. It had been a perfect strike. Dracula crouched over the body as a flashlight beam broke through the thick underbrush and passed by. He rose up slowly and grabbed the man’s ankle. He dragged the man a fair ways up into the mountains using his magic to ensure that his broken neck wasn’t further injured.

Once he was sure that he was far enough away he stopped and gave the air another sniff. He smelled a pack of wolves and that couldn’t be more perfect. He lifted the man and bit into his neck. The moment Dracula tasted the blood a kind of frenzy took over. He had forgotten how delicious human blood tasted, the richness of the flavor and the strength that surged through him. He drank the man dry and when he looked up he could see the wolves lingering as close as they dared. He stared at them and they backed away. He smiled, stood, and turned his back on the body.

He heard the pack tear into the body immediately. He guarded them as they fed until there was enough eaten away that the wolves could drag him further into their territory. He swiped at his jaw with his index finger and lapped the remaining blood off of it. He walked calmly to a clearing and flew into the sky with a single stroke of his powerful wings.

He found Inmoon quickly enough and landed next to her. She had found her own kill and was gorging herself on the meat. Her snout, chest and hands were coated with blood. She snarled at him and he laughed. Bones snapped beneath her powerful jaws and that tongue went to work lapping at the marrow. She grabbed hold of the skull of what used to be a man and ripped the tongue out. The eyes went next then she tore open the stomach and devoured the organs inside.

When she had eaten her fill he raised his hand and, after she gave a nod, cleaned the blood out of her fur with a wave. He took flight again and they continued to travel until sunrise when they found a large burrow and, after making it a bit roomier, settled down to sleep.

 


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Inmoon and Dracula gain a couple groups of stalkers, Dracula made a mistake, and no one likes Inmoon.

The two remained in their den until the sun had dipped down past the horizon and then they slowly crawled their way through the mess of roots and vine-like growth that covered the entrance. Dracula emerged first and stretched out all six of his limbs while Inmoon gave out a long yawn behind him and stretched her own aching muscles. Both sat on the cooling ground and meditated until the sky darkened and the moon and stars shone down upon them. As the two set pace at a leisurely walk Inmoon lifted her snout and gave the air a long sniff.

“Your friends are persistent.” She said. “But they are still fools. They travel upwind.” She ended her statement with a short laugh and a shake of her head.

Dracula sighed and nodded in agreement. “I had hoped that they would remain at the hotel, but hope has once again proven to be a useless emotion.”

Inmoon’s expression quickly formed into one of worry and her purple eyes widened as she turned to face Dracula. His voice had been empty, void of all emotion and dead.

“Don’t you do this Vlad. Don’t shut down. I know it’s easier than the truth of things but you can’t. If you do….I….I won’t be able to do this. I’m hanging on by a thread as it is Vladislav and….Vlad… _you_ are that thread. Don’t leave me here alone.”

He looked back at her for a few long seconds and slowly his black eyes faded back to blue and he drew her in for a long embrace.

“You can’t do that either.” Inmoon looked up at him and found his eyes to be hard and stern. “You cannot cling to me like I am your last best hope. I cannot support you like that. YOU are your last best hope not me. YOU, do you understand me Inmoon?” She nodded silently holding back tears and the two continued to walk at a slow pace, burdened by the conversation and the silence now hanging in the air.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKWHEEEEEWRITINGAGAINPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

“Look at this, how can you say I’m wrong?”

“Oh please you’re just hoping. You want excitement.”

“Excuse me?!”

“You heard me this is pointless. We need to stop.”

“You saw what happened at the monster festival!”

“So what? They aren’t hurting anything why are you mad?”

_Slap_

“I don’t want to hear that kind of talk out of your mouth again! You want to think it, fine but don’t you dare say it and don’t you even THINK about acting on it you hear me?!”

“Will you two stop fighting!”

“Yeah it’s getting annoying and besides she’s right.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Come here and follow my reasoning with patience okay?”

“Fine.”

“Alright, we’ll start here where the wolves fed. You can easily see the trail where they dragged the carcass and….once you follow it….to….the end right here, take a gander. See anything missing from the kill sight?”

“Blood. There’s no blood.”

“Exactly. This is where the wolves tore into that man until they lightened the load enough for them to drag him further into their territory. Right here you can see another drag trail that should lead to the actual kill zone but who knows how far away that is.”

“A vampire.”

“They’re back. They are back and they are killing again.”

“As long as there are monsters no human is safe.”

“You all saw what happened at the festival right?”

“Yeah, that walking rotting corpse said Dracula’s daughter. Not only are monsters still here but they are breeding.”

“But….Frankenstein said that Dracula’s daughter was in love with a human.”

“What did I tell you about those disgusting thoughts!”

“HA, oh please man don’t make me laugh. What do you think they did with the boy when they caught him? Plus, love? Monsters don’t love.”

“That poor boy would’ve escaped if it wasn’t for all of those damn monster fans. They’re worse than monsters they help those things to kill their own kind.”

“Enough talk. Let’s keep moving and stay downwind. It’s time to dust us a vampire!”

“Yeah!”

“Whoohoo!”

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKOHBOYTHISTOOPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKRUNPAGEBREAK**

“This can’t be right.” Wayne whispered as he gazed at the mangled remains. “After everything….he wouldn’t.”

Nothing could be said to ease the horror they all felt at the unmistakable sight of a vampire kill. They were just starting to establish contact with the human world again in a positive manner but of course things were very fragile. Dracula knew how careful they had to be and yet he had gone and done something like this?

“We have to get rid of the body.” Murray said gravely.

“Wait guys.” Wayne said as he took a close look at the ground. “Humans have already been here.

He kneeled down and pointed out several sets of footprints in the soft dirt.

“This is bad.” Frank muttered. “This is so bad.”

They stood frozen in the dark unsure of what exactly to do. There were so many question and the biggest one was Drac’s reasoning behind killing and feeding on a human.

“Mavis can’t know.” Frank said and everyone agreed.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKTHISCHAPTERISTOUGHPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

“It’s just through here.” Inmoon led Dracula through a tight grove of trees that hid the mouth of a cave. She parted the leaves hanging over and ducked through the low entrance.

Once the two had entered she lit candles around the interior and moved the simple wooden table out of the center of the room. She took out her blade, cut away a lock of her fur and placed it in a small bowl formed into the stone floor. She muttered a few words under her breath as she took a candle and lit the hair on fire. There was a loud clunk and a hiss as a section of the floor sunk in and slid away to reveal a stone staircase.

“I have to thank you for the extra security. You are a genius when it comes to magic. Hell, you’re even better than Zeyphx and he’s a Warlock.” She chuckled as she vanished down the staircase into the darkness.

In a few minutes she was back with her cloak folded and tied to her back. Her brazier was gold and matching chains lashed it to her chest. Black cords criss crossed down her back and around her forearms and thighs that held throwing knives, sais, and daggers. A scarlet loincloth covered her lower half, the material reaching her knees. Gold cord wound around the base of her tail holding her skirt comfortably to it. On each of her fingers and thumbs was a steel ring shaped perfectly to fit her fingers and wrap around the claws in a long wicked hook, lengthening them and increasing their chance to kill.

She handed him a book bound in cloth and covered with dust and a sword nearly as tall as her with a blade nearly as wide as her waist.

“Here’s your Tome and Sirith.” She said as he grasped the book.

He reached behind him and grabbed a long object, also bound in cloth, from its spot between his wings and handed it to her as he took his sword.

“And here is your hammer.”

He placed his sword between his wings where her hammer used to be and hooked the cloth bound Tome to its holder at his hip. Inmoon unwrapped her staff and held it firmly in her grasp gazing at it like an old friend. At the top of the sturdy wooden staff two stones were bound firmly with black cord. Both were ovular and sharpened at either end, the bigger sat on top and the stone beneath that was slightly smaller. In the space between the two stone hammers held a falcon’s skull decorated with feathers. The sides to the hammers were covered in bird talons embedded into the stone. All together it was a fierce weapon.

Inmoon stomped hard on the floor and the stone slid back to its rightful place. She dragged the table back over and the two sat down for a moment. She pulled out two apples, bread and cheese from a nearby cabinet and poured both of them a glass of blood.

“No killing to get this. Blood banks are pretty cool.” Inmoon laughed and Dracula gave a little chuckle.

“Alright.” Dracula started as he poured both of them another glass. “The best route would be to head up to Scotland and find Isobel, then over to Ireland to find Lorelay. After that we get on a plane and head to America to find Viore and last we head to South America and get Zeyphx.”

Inmoon nodded as she finished off her apple core in a single bite. The two ate the rest of their meal in silence then stood and silently made their way back out into the forest.

“We should travel through the day. I have fed on human blood it will not harm me and we need to hurry. Autumn is reaching its end and we have until the winter solstice until all hell breaks loose. Literally.”

Inmoon nodded as she tied her war hammer to her back and settled on all fours wiggling her hindquarters in anticipation of a run. Dracula smiled and laughed as he took to the sky and the race was on.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKI’MGONNAADDMORETOTHISCHAPTERPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

The group had been doing their best to track Dracula and his friend but with every night the two pulled further ahead. The only way they could have done that was if the two were traveling through the day but the sunlight burned Dracula as it did every vampire. Also there was a group of humans that appeared to be tracking the pair as well and one could only assume that their intentions were less than noble. The group made the decision to focus their efforts on the group of humans instead of Dracula. He may have run off leaving them with nothing to go on but they still trusted him with their lives.

“Our best bet is for me to track them by sight. As I said baby diapers have killed my sense of smell.” He let out a loud sigh and a quiet growl.

“You okay Wayne?” Griffin asked.

“No. I don’t like her.”

“Drac’s friend?”

“Yeah…..Inmoon I think was her name?”

“Why not?”

“She’s not right. Her fur is silver. Silver kills werewolves. I don’t like it, she seems too....haughty. She seems unnatural almost. She puts me on edge. If I had my way Dracula and all of us would be nowhere near her.”

 


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dracula is smarter than he looks, Mavis rants in her head about all this, and a character's first line becomes the stuff of legends.

Dracula and Inmoon traveled nonstop for days, only stopping to rest briefly and eat. They avoided any towns and especially large cities. The two wandered across the occasional hiker but it was easy enough to avoid them. Their feed from the first night of their trip would last them a few more days and then the two of them would need to feed again. Something neither of them were looking forward to but only human blood would do. Only human flesh and blood could put them at full power and give them a fighting chance against the evil at their doorstep.

During the daytime Dracula flew above the clouds and the pair kept in contact via a spell that bound their minds together. Dracula felt whole again with his Tome and Sirith at his side once more. He could feel his old power returning to him and with it he felt the great shadow looming over the world. It grew darker and larger with every passing day and the cold hand of fear wrapped itself around his heart and squeezed mercilessly.

He couldn’t help but think about Mavis and Johnny back at the hotel. He hoped with everything he had that he would come away from this fight and be able to see her again. He begged and pleaded that this time, this time he would come out alive. There were so many things that he didn’t tell her and should have. Too many secrets to keep from his own daughter but he was too afraid to tell her anything. He was afraid of what she would think of him after she knew the things that had happened, the things he had done and the truth about him and Martha. Poor Mavis grew up believing that her parents had been bonded and he was scared to tell her that he and Martha were never bonded. They had zinged and he had asked her, nothing would have made him happier but Martha refused. Martha said no to the two of them being bonded and she never told him why.

Dracula not being bonded to Martha is the only reason that he was alive today. Vampires don’t marry like humans do. When a vampire marries, or bonds, they literally merge their souls together. If one bond mate dies then the other will follow because nothing can live for very long with only half a soul. Vampires weren’t meant to live alone and yet, here he was cursed to live out his days in solitude.

He rolled over midflight and snatched a bird flying by. He sank his fangs into it and quickly drained the small animal of its blood. When he was finished he dropped it and continued flying. He shook his head to get those haunting thoughts away from him. She didn’t need to know any of that and Dracula didn’t need to worry about his daughter anymore because Johnny would take care of her now. He pulled up higher and higher into the sky, diving through clouds and looping around and through the wispy shapes. He popped into the middle of a flock of geese and laughed as they scattered away with startled honks. Inmoon’s own laughter echoed over their mental link and he sent her an amused grin. It wouldn’t take much longer now to get to Scotland, only a few more days and they would be that much closer to ending this war, hopefully, before it started.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKDOGSNEEDABATHPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

It had been over two weeks since the incident at the dinner and neither Mavis nor Johnny had heard anything about Dracula. Mavis wasn’t sleeping well and instead took to wandering the vault hidden beneath her father’s coffin. She’d found a secondary staircase that led up to a shrine of some kind. There was no body, no picture and no name but it was obvious that Dracula had cared for this person dearly and whoever it was wasn’t her mother. The only thing in the room other than hundreds of flowers was a simple sharpened bone knife.

All her life and she had never known about this room and had never known about any other people in her father’s life other than Martha and her Uncles. She had never heard of this Inmoon but apparently Dracula knew her very well. Now her father had run off and couldn’t tell her why because of some blood oath.

Blood oath!

There was another thing about this whole situation that unnerved her. She had talked to her father about magic and the subject of blood magic came up. Her dad hated blood magic, detested it in fact and he had entered a blood oath swearing himself to secrecy. What would make her father do something like that? What else had he been hiding and what else had happened to him that she didn’t know about? Her Uncles didn’t even have a clue what was going on and her dad told them everything. She was so scared for her father.

The vault beneath his coffin was filled with papers thrown haphazardly around, precariously stacked books, various plants, minerals, bones and preserved animal parts. There was a massive cauldron set aside by the shelves housing his supplies and a desk in the far corner. There was an entire wall covered in runes that no one could decipher and it was starting to look more and more to everyone like her father had gone crazy. There were so many rumors flying around that Martha’s death had done more damage than people first thought and that he needed to be locked up for his own good. People still respected him and the entire monster population was out looking. The hotel was nearly empty and everyone involved in the search took the precautions to safely capture and restrain Dracula.

She knew her father wasn’t crazy and Johnny knew it too. He was always reassuring her when she overheard a conversation about his “condition”.

She was wandering the vault in the middle of the day trying to wipe the tears out of her eyes. She didn’t know how she could prove to everyone that her father wasn’t crazy. She was pouring over his papers and notes but she couldn’t make any sense of his formulas. Every one of his books were spell books, either holding information or filled cover to cover with her father’s handwriting.

There was another shelf behind the desk that gave her worry. Floor to ceiling shelves lined with human skulls. Some skulls were intact, some were fractured and some were shattered. No matter the condition of the skull each one had a number carved into it ranging from one to one hundred and six. They weren’t recent and, in fact they were quite old. The last one on the shelf was at least sixty or seventy years old.

She could feel that this place held all of the secrets her father wasn’t able to tell her and she knew that all she had to do was look. She had spent every waking moment in this vault and had yet to find anything. A surge of red hot anger overwhelmed her so; she grabbed the desk with both hands and flipped it end over end scattering papers everywhere. The crash echoed loudly and Johnny came running into the vault with a glass of blood.

“You ok-” He began to ask but Mavis cut him off.

“No Johnny I am not okay! Of course I’m not okay! Everyone thinks my dad’s crazy and no one else but you believes me! I know the answers I’m looking for are in here but this whole vault goes against everything my dad is. This whole place is in disarray! There’s no pattern, nothing is organized!” She screamed and kicked the chair into the wall sending dust flying down from the cracks in the ceiling.

“Mavis, calm down okay. Here drink this you haven’t eaten in a while.” He handed her the glass of blood substitute and held her in his arms as she drank it.

She saw Johnny’s friends behind them in the stairwell holding that damn camera and filming everything still. She didn’t care, they weren’t doing anything wrong and they seemed to be just as upset about the situation as anyone else.

“Maybe that’s why the place is such a mess. Maybe he wanted to make sure that no one would find anything important so he made it the exact opposite of what it should have been.”

She took a deep breath after finishing off her glass of blood and turned around to look at the room again. Her eyes caught a red glow on the underside of the desk and she dropped the glass in shock when she saw what the desk held. She pushed away from Johnny and took a closer look at the red letters wiggling around on the desk.

_I knew you’d want to know Mavy. Do you know how to read braille?_

Her eyes widened and Johnny stepped around the broken glass to kneel next to her.

“What is it?” He asked.

“You don’t see it?” She asked.

“Why what is it?”

“Get a witch down here now.”

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKMEANWHILEPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

He could feel every person in his vault and he knew when Mavis had found his first breadcrumb. He wasn’t telling her, she was finding it herself and so he wasn’t breaking the oath. There was always a way around everything, even a blood oath. He smiled softly to himself as he circled Inmoon below him. He dove down and landed quietly on the grassy hillside next to her and the two of them took a deep breath of the Scottish country air.

“Alright, so how the hell do we find her? Isobel could be anywhere in all of Scotland.” Dracula asked.

“Can’t you do some kind of a tracking spell?” Inmoon answered.

“Do you have a possession of hers?” Inmoon’s head dropped. “I thought so.” He paused for a moment then continued. “Well….we could always….follow the trail of dead wildlife.” He couldn’t hold back his laughter at the end.

“You mean…” Inmoon giggled. “You still haven’t told her?”

Dracula shook his head back and forth chuckling.

“Oh God. Poor Isobel.”

“If I told her she’d be crushed.” Dracula defended himself.

“So she?....”

“Still thinks she has the most amazing singing voice in the world, yes.” He laughed wiping the tears from his eyes.

“We really need to tell her that she’s tone deaf Vlad.”

“I know, I know. I’d just feel so bad about it. She loves to sing so much.”

“Well I guess we roam the countryside of Scotland listening for the unmistakable sound of Isobel’s singing.”

“Ah, yes, the unforgettable screech of a Banshee.”

“The only Banshee.” Inmoon interjected.

They laughed for a bit longer before a race across the countryside commenced. They’d find Isobel by dawn for sure and then be off to Ireland to find Lorelay.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKSOTHAT’SWHYTHEBANSHEESCREAMSPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

“It’s a charm honey, with a protective barrier I can’t break.” The witch they had brought down answered the question that hung on everyone’s mind.

Johnny had run and gotten the head of the witch cleaning staff who was the most experienced with magic.

“I’ve never seen magic this advanced. You have the main spell which is weaved into several scramblers that completely ruin my ability to read its energy and identify the spell. The protective charm is the same way.”

“Why can I see it?”

“Because it was a message meant only for you.”

“What does it say?” Johnny asked.

“It says, I knew you’d want to know Mavy. Do you know how to read Braille?”

“Hey, what’s this?” Johnny leaned down to a small crevice in the wood and tried to grab a slip of yellow paper when he touched it there was a loud crack and Johnny was launched onto his back.

“Johnny!” Mavis screamed and darted over to him.

Johnny let out a loud groan of pain and clutched his hand to his chest. The witch maid kneeled down and gently took a hold of his hand to reveal blisters popping up all over his hand and smoke rising from the burned flesh. He moaned again as she looked his hand over. She waved her fingers over his burns and they vanished.

“Nasty little protection spell, painful but easy to fix. Mavis why don’t you try and grab that, your father’s smarter than any of us gave him credit for.”

Mavis reached for the slip of paper and grasped it with no problem. She pulled it out of its hiding place and unfolded it. She laughed when she read it.

“It’s a code.” She smiled. “He put a code into the runes. He doesn’t tell me what they all say but the number of lines and corners on each rune equals a letter.”

She dashed over to the wall and ran over the entire thing, every single rune, as fast as she could. It took her thirty minutes to read over everything and then she found what she was looking for in the farthest top corner.

“Aha! According to dad’s code this word is braille. The rest is gibberish.” She shouted out.

“Okay…so now what?” She asked. “I don’t know what to do next.”

“Well.” Johnny said quietly. “It’s braille, touch it.”

“What?”

“He asked you if you know how to read braille. You read braille by tracing the words so trace the words.”

She lifted a finger and slowly traced each rune. When she had finished there was a loud clunk and an even louder scraping noise as the entire wall slid back and retracted behind the wall.

The muffled screeching was like red hot steel scraping across their brain and they screamed at the pain.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKOHWHATHAVEYOUGOTDRACPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

She had opened the door. He felt it like a kick to the gut, tripped and ate dirt before rolling a few feet. He sat up and spat out wads of dirt and grass while Inmoon laughed at him. He glared at her and stood up to give her a shove. She grabbed his arms and used his momentum to send them both tumbling down the hillside. They bit and clawed and shoved each other into the grass. They laughed and growled and threw each other around, playing like they hadn’t played in centuries.

“Here am ur oot roamin and whit do I find but ye two bampots and acting like wee bairns at that. Am gonnae wallap ye wan if ye dinnae shut yer geggies!”

Inmoon looked up from chewing on Dracula’s arm and Dracula paused in his gnawing and yanking on Inmoon’s left ear to see a thin pale woman in a blue cloak, her brown hair billowing down by her waist. The two immediately jumped up from their positions feeling duly chastised for their behavior. Yes, they felt like immature little bastards.

“We’ve been looking for you Isobel.” Dracula informed his old friend as Inmoon took to rubbing her tongue along her teeth.

“Aye, ah kin ya dobber!”

“Wow…you really took to Scotland didn’t you?”

“Aye. Ye up fer a wee bevvy?”

“Speak so we can all understand Isobel.”

“Any of ye wannae head back te my house fer a drink?”

“Sure and we have quite a lot to talk about.”

“Hope ye like scotch!”

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKYAAAAYSEIZURESPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

For a few second no one could move then Mavis opened her eyes and saw what she assumed was the object of her dad’s little scavenger hunt. A large book hung on a rope in front of a shelf that had three jars with runes written all over, like the ones on the wall. Behind the runes something black and inky with long teeth and piercing eyes thrashed and squirmed in its confines. She grabbed the book and as soon as the rope broke the door slammed shut again muting the howling things in those jars.

“This is it.” Mavis said as she made her way back up the stairs and into her room.

Johnny closed the door behind him, after telling his friends to get lost. He sat next to Mavis on the bed and listened to her take a deep shaky breath while clutching the book in her lap. He reached forward and gently grabbed Mavis’s hand. She looked at him and straightened. Her face hardened and she opened the book to the first page.

_It’s been nearly a year exactly since mom died and as the Winter Solstice approaches I realize that it would be a good idea to record the important things._

_My name is Vladislav Dracula I am thirteen years old and this is the most important thing I will ever write. If I remember nothing else I need to remember this._

_When dark creeps in and eats the light_

_Bury your fears on Sorry Night_

_For in the winter’s blackest hours_

_Comes the feasting of the Vours_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isobel's first line took me an hour and a half on the Internet looking up Scottish slang. Everyone I know who has read my story absolutely adores the damn thing and I hope you did too!


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which journal entries upset everyone, Isobel drinks a lot, and proves she is far more observant than anyone gives her credit for.

_It’s been a year since father threw mother into the bitter cold and beat me near to death. A year since the Vours ate him and I killed mother to prevent her sharing the same horrible fate. I carry the bone knife with me to remember her and remember the Vours. Inmoon and I have vowed to find a way to stop them._

_We are no closer to learning anything than we were that first night. They don’t like the cold, that’s all we know. The only defense we have. I’m doing my best to teach Inmoon more words but she gets frustrated easily._

_Winter is harsh and I’ve had to learn theft. A necessary evil. The closer it comes to Sorry Night the more afraid I get, but I can’t be afraid. I’m not allowed to._

_Vladislav Dracula_

_It’s been three years since my first entry and I am now sixteen. Inmoon is doing well with her vocabulary but her people skills leave much to be desired. She was attacked a few days ago by a group of men that discovered her while she was trying to steal some of their food. They tried to rape her and she tore them apart with her bare hands and teeth. She is viewed as nothing more than an animal by other people and it disgusts me. The men returned and told the village of the savage wild woman living in the woods. We are being hunted, but I am not angry at Inmoon._

_Vladislav Dracula_

_It has been a while since Vlad wrote in this. He tells me that he writes the important things and this would be important. I messed up again. I grew too curious and stumbled into a village. Someone hit me with a rock and I woke up in a cage._

_They were going to sell me._

_Vlad broke me out but they hurt him. He sleeps now and his flesh is hot with the fever. His wound is sick and his illness is my fault. All I can do is treat his wound with the herbs and pray._

_I’m so sorry Vlad_

_Inmoon_

It was basically a journal that her father had kept during the course of his life that documented, as he put it, the important things. Mavis hadn’t even made it that far in and she already couldn’t bring herself to continue. She closed the book and swallowed hard as Johnny held her close.

“It’s my grandmother’s shrine.” She mumbled. “What are Vours?”

“I don’t know.” Was the only answer Johnny could give her.

“We need to get my uncles back here. They need to read this.”

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKCAN’TWAITFORHALLOWEENPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

Wayne, Frank, Griffin, and Murray had continued to track the group of assumed monster hunters across Romania. Dracula and Inmoon’s trail had long gone cold and it was obvious that the two of them had cleared out of Romania a while ago. The trail wasn’t an easy one to find as Dracula was flying and Inmoon knew how to run without leaving much of a trail. Unfortunately for her, she was shedding and left small tufts of silver fur on branches that snagged her as she ran. It was probably something that she wasn’t even aware of. It was another thing about her that Wayne didn’t like. Werewolves only shed during their first full moon, before a complete shift if they were turned, and during puberty if they were purebloods.

Everything about Inmoon screamed dangerous and he just wanted to get her away from his friends and family. The way she acted unnerved him too and Wayne knew that everyone else thought the same thing. She was so up there, acting like she was above all of them. They recognized Dracula as their King but he was humble and never treated them like she did. She was just…..she needed to be gone.

He paused in his running to catch his breath and heard the call of a Raven in the night sky. He looked up and the large black bird swooped down and landed on his head. He grunted in annoyance before reaching up and grabbing the animal. There was a note on its leg and he untied it and read it as the bird flew away.

_Found something that you need to see. Dad can take care of himself. Come back to the hotel now._

_Mavis_

The first thing to settle in his gut was worry and he quickly turned around to alert the rest of the group about their sudden change in plans.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKTISTHESEASONFORHORRORPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

They followed Isobel back to her house built into the boughs of four tall oak trees. A strong wind blew her into her home as Dracula took wing and flew the distance. Inmoon took to scaling the tree, digging her claws deep into the wood and reaching her friends in a few short seconds. Once inside Isobel removed her cloak and walked further down the hall.

She was a short woman, much shorter than her companions and her skin was paler than the count’s, almost clear, with black veins that protruded slightly. Her brown hair reached down to her waist and her frame was very petite. Long slender fingers ended in long black nails and her teeth were sharpened to razors. Her milky white eyes were piercing and when she looked at you it felt as if she was gazing into your soul.

“I’ve managed to collect a few good scotches over the years.” Isobel stated in her thick Scottish accent as she led the two over to a table.

Dracula and Inmoon took seats at the glass table and admired the black metal work resembling vines that wound its way around the surface. Isobel reappeared shortly holding a bottle of scotch and three shot glasses. She sat in the chair across from Dracula and Inmoon and poured each of them a shot. She knocked back her own quickly and happily poured herself another shot.

“Alright then. Spit it oot! What’s happening that’s so important that the two of ye have to feed on humans again?”

“How did you-“ Dracula stuttered as Inmoon nearly choked on her scotch.

“Ah please. Ye dinnae give me enough credit! Inmoon’s fur is gettin coarse again an she’s sheddin, an ye Vlad! Why the color in yer skin is returning and that dinnae happen unless ye been drinkin human blood an eatin human flesh. So, spit it oot!”

The two of them sat in a moment of stunned silence whilst Isobel gave a triumphant smirk as she poured herself another shot. They had forgotten how observant Isobel was. They looked at each other and Dracula sighed loudly. Once again the task of explaining fell to him. Even after he had taught her proper vocabulary she still didn’t like to speak more than she had to and now that Dracula was here she didn’t have to speak at all if she didn’t want to.

“It’s….the vault Isobel. The protective seal over it is breaking.”

Isobel nearly choked on her scotch, which she was now downing straight from the bottle.

“No, that…..that’s not possible Vlad. Ye put everythin ye had inta it! Ye said nothin could break it!”

“Well I was wrong!” He shouted. “I was wrong and the seal is breaking. We have to right this and keep them from swarming out of the void to feed. They have no limitations anymore and once they get through they don’t have to go back. It’s not like it used to be. They found out how to break the rules and so we must make new ones. This is our burden and we will fulfill it!”

“Ah wasn’t sayin that ah wasn’t ginnae fight. Ah made a vow Vlad an ah intend te keep it.” She whispered looking him in the eye as she hunched over the table.

“I….I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.”

“It’s alright Vlad. With what we’re ginnae go up against again this is fine. We all git it oot in different ways.”

The three of them sat in silence simply enjoying the drink, the calm and the company of one another until dawn. As the sunlight peeked its way through the windows Isobel stood and addressed the two sitting at her table.

“Well, the two of ye look more than tired. Ye will sleep ere tonight and then the three of us will head off te Ireland come nightfall te find Lorelay.”

The two nodded sleepily and wandered off to find their rooms. They had been to Isobel’s home many times and knew their way around.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKSLEEEEEEEEEPYPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

_My name is Vladislav Dracula, I am twenty five years old and I have finally learned more about the Vours. Sorry night was last night and last night Inmoon fell prey to a Vour. It took her quickly and I had trouble telling that it wasn’t her. When I found out she attacked me. She screamed that horrible scream that turned my head to fire. I fought with her for hours, smashing snow and ice against her skin causing it to blacken and making her howl in pain._

_I grabbed her arm and, I’m not sure how, but I entered her mind where the Vour dwelled. The creature had created a nightmare world built from her worst fears. I spent what seemed like hours in this dreamscape, as I called it, fighting through the blood and the gore and the screams to find her. The filthy creature had turned her parents into hideous monsters that screamed profanities at her and tried to kill her._

_Her pack lay about the ground mutilated, gutted, dismembered, choking on their own blood and crying for her comfort that she could not give. The men who hunted us roamed the woods; her home had become twisted and warped into something dark. Everything was dead. The men who attacked her had done so again but this time they succeeded. They took her again, and again, and again. They beat her and laughed at her tears and screams and pleas for them to stop._

_My house was there too. Burned to the ground and my mother lingered outside the doorway still. Her throat split wide and every word spoken was drowned in blood. My father chased her, burned as he was. It was horrifying._

_It was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced and it was difficult not to succumb to the terror myself. I found her and when I convinced her that none of this was real, that it was the work of the Vour, the dreamscape faded and the Vour was expelled._

_I am unsure of what I have learned but I’m certain that I have found something important this year and one day I pray I have the wisdom to decipher it._

_Vladislav Dracula_

“Stop. Just stop reading now!” Frank shouted. “This is….what is this?!” He gazed at Mavis with eyes that begged her to say that this was not her father’s journal, pleaded with her to say that it was anyone else’s.

“I don’t know what it is. All I know is that its dad’s and he wanted me to find it.” Mavis responded through tears.

“I…I just….He would have told us about stuff like this. This is……”

“Like something out of a horror movie.” Johnny intercepted. “A legit one.”

“Those…things…in the jars. They were Vours.” Mavis said as if she was stating a fact, she was.

“Keep going.” Griffin told her. “If you can’t then I will. Vlad wouldn’t have given this to us if there wasn’t something for us to find.”

Mavis nodded and took a deep breath before continuing.

_I've finally discovered the secret to magic._

_Vladislav Dracula_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isobel's accent is hard to type out and makes life difficult when reading out loud. All the changing accents and such. Yeah, have fun guys!


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Frank gets really upset, the journal reveals some nasty things, and Dracula has a nightmare.

Frank’s POV

My head was spinning with all of this information and I found myself simultaneously trying not to cry, throw something, and throw up. Above everything else I was mad. I was angrier now than I had ever been and it was all directed at Dracula. All of this…horrible stuff and Dracula had outright lied to me about his past. He was far older than he led me to believe and I just couldn’t take all of the LIES.

“I can’t listen to any more of this.” I growled as I stood and made for the door.

“Where do you think you’re going Frank?” I glared down at Wayne as he jumped in front of me.

“I’m leaving.”

“No, you’re not. We need to listen to this. He gave Mavis this book for a reason. I know you’re upset-“

“Upset!?” I bellowed. “Oh, I’m beyond upset. I’m livid!”

“Don’t lose your head Uncle Frank.” Mavis told me as she set the book aside on her bed.

I grumbled a bit as I reached up to tighten the bolts around my neck.

“He lied to me, he lied to all of us!” I yelled. “I don’t understand any of you. I grew up with the guy after that angry mob and I’ve never heard of any of this.”

“Look.” Griffin piped up. “I know you’re angry Frank. We all are and Drac’s going to have a lot of explaining to do when we see him again but we have to listen to this.”

“I can’t listen to any more Griffin!” I yelled back and threw my fist through the wall.

“Will you shut up!” Griffin screamed and punched me across the face. “You need to stop this. Stop being so self-centered and save the anger for Dracula!”

I looked around at everyone in the room after pulling my fist back out of the rubble that was left of the wall. Griffin was right as he usually was. For all of his social awkwardness he knew people far better than he thought he did.

“Fine.” I whispered and it sounded broken even to my ears.

I sat down on the floor and forced myself to listen to what Mavis was reading. My wife sat down next to me and wrapped her arms around me and I welcomed the comfort as I thought back to my own history with Dracula.

_“Oh geeze did you see the look on that guy’s other head!?” Dracula shouted through his laughter._

_“How do you think up things like that?” Frank was in awe of this young vampire but couldn’t hold back his laughter. “Where’d you get the cow?”_

_“We’re in the Romanian countryside Frank. The cow was easy.”_

_“We’re in soooo much trouble.”_

_“I’m Count Dracula, I think we’ll be fine.”_

_“We’d better stay far away from his estate from now on. This is almost as bad as that time you managed to get into bed with that Warlock’s wife!”_

_“Wives.” Dracula elaborated with a wicked grin._

_The two of them couldn’t stop laughing for a good while._

They had gotten into a lot of trouble back then. Neither of them had anybody growing up, no relatives, no friends just each other. At least, so Frank had thought. He had looked so young though. He hadn’t looked a day over one-hundred and fifteen, when Frank had met up with him. He was pretty wild back then, before he met Martha. Even after Martha he still kept that. It was her death and the circumstances surrounding it that changed him so much.

Mavis started reading again and Frank braced himself.

_It’s only been a few days since my last entry, I am still twenty-five and magic has come easily to me, far easier than I originally thought it would. Inmoon has taken to it as well though she seems to be struggling more than I am._

_I can’t say exactly where we are as we have been traveling nonstop ever since mother’s death. We’re by the ocean and it’s quite lovely. I’m recovering from wounds sustained after I pushed Inmoon into the sea. Needless to say she was very angry. It was during our fight that we met a woman. She was alone, like us and made a meager living as a fisherman. Her name is Lorelay and she has welcomed us into her home. I’ve discovered that Inmoon has quite the talent for fishing._

_Lorelay has taken to magic as well and wants to continue traveling with us. Neither I nor Inmoon are opposed to this._

_Vladislav Dracula_

_It has been roughly a month since my last entry and I’m getting a little freaked out. Lorelay, Inmoon and I have managed to acquire another companion. Her name is Isobel and she is the smallest woman I have ever seen. She’s also tone deaf, VERY tone deaf but none of us have the heart to tell her. She lost her family recently to a landslide and she always loved her mother’s singing. It’s all she has to hold onto right now._

_I’m feeling very outnumbered now._

_Vladislav Dracula_

_It’s been another month and the four of us have run into trouble. This time it wasn’t due to Inmoon’s curiosity either. We are being hunted again and Lorelay is injured terribly. I did my best to defend her. We were alone when we were attacked and she was nearly beaten to death. I’m not faring too well myself but I can walk. I have a deep gash in my back that Inmoon and Isobel are doing their best to treat. The pain is intense but I’ve felt worse at the hands of my father._

_Vladislav Dracula_

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKIWANTACOOKIEPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

They were up by sundown and moving as fast as they could across the countryside. Dracula knew they needed to feed but was hesitant to do so again. The moment he saw the look on Inmoon’s face he knew he had no choice in the matter. All three of them split off into separate hunting territories and scoured the lands for their prey. Dracula apologized repeatedly in his head as he flew through the night sky.

He swooped down on a lone camper in the country and covered her mouth as they returned to the sky.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKTHATWASSHORTPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK.**

Dracula’s POV

We established the mental link with Isobel and continued on our way once we had eaten our fill and I now had a companion in flight. She used no wings and used the winds to lift and propel her through the sky. She liked to use strong gusts of air to spin me off course and I had to deal with a few small monsoons during our nonstop journey to Ireland.

We traveled as far as we could on land and we reached the sea within the night. When we did Ii simply swopped down and gathered a very irate Inmoon in my arms and flew over the sea. I smiled as I listened to her curse and snarl at being carried and had to hold back a small chuckled. What was she supposed to do, swim? The thought of Inmoon trying to swim from Scotland to Ireland actually did draw a laugh from me and I got a good glare for it.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKAWWWTHAT’SKINDACUTEPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

_We’ve crossed a desert and I’ve never seen lands such as these. We had to get as far away from my homeland as possible because of all of the people seeking our deaths. It’s been rough but I have the company of the girls and that helps. I still feel strange surrounded by women. I shouldn’t be this paranoid but I am. I am healed as well as Lorelay. These are strange lands and I have never seen cats so big. They frighten me and I often wonder if they will be my end._

_Vladislav Dracula_

_It has been two months since my last entry and we have acquired another companion. A MALE companion. THANK YOU! His name is Zeyphx and his skin is black. I’ve never seen someone with skin that color but apparently he’s never seen anyone with white skin. I guess we’re even._

_Zeyphx has chosen to accompany us. He lost his family to a bushfire and wants nothing more than to leave this place behind. His parents, siblings, and his new wife are now dead._

_Vladislav Dracula_

_Another Sorry Night has come and gone. The Vours are something everyone knows about but Zeyphx, Lorelay and Isobel were more than happy to hear the knowledge Inmoon and I had gained over the years and they were shocked to learn that I had released Inmoon from the hold of one. Nothing new to report this year but everyone is still focused on learning as much as possible._

_Vladislav Dracula_

_It has been three years and I am now twenty-eight and the only thing that’s been worth writing down is…..wait for it…..we crossed the sea. Do you understand? WE HAVE CROSSED THE OCEAN!!!!! Not many people survive the journey and very few people even decide to try. Most people are convinced that the only thing over here is water filled with monsters and certain death. The only monsters that exist are the Vours. Anyway….WE CROSSED THE OCEAN!_

_Vladislav Dracula_

_It’s been three days since my last entry and these lands are strange. We are celebrated for our magic here. Another man has joined us with permission from his tribe’s chief and his name is Viore and he has dark skin as well but not as dark as Zeyphx. He has a talent for magic as well and we have begun crafting a spell together to ensure the end of the Vours. I can already feel that this spell will cost us a lot, more than I can imagine._

_Vladislav Dracula_

“I’m still weirded out by the fact that Dracula was once human.” Johnny stuttered. “I thought he was always a Vampire.”

“Another thing he lied about.” Frank muttered angrily.

“Don’t start again Frank.” Eunice told him.

_We have spent seven years working on our spell and piecing things together. We need a representation of the six elements, earth, water, air, fire, spirit and shadow. Each of us reflects those elements very well. Lorelay is water, Inmoon is Spirit, Zeyphx is earth, Viore is fire, and I am Shadow. We meditated for days on this before we found our elements. We have learned that the Vours dwell in a world separate from ours. A world that is dark and cold. Our spell will bind them there but it will take great sacrifice and the Vours have already proven to us that they are not going without a fight. It has been a terrifying several years and I have seen everyone’s dreamscape._

_Vladislav Dracula_

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKOKAYWE’REALMOSTHTEREPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

It took the rest of the day for the trio to cross the ocean and when they reached the shores of Ireland they decided to make camp and rest. The flight was tiring for everyone in the party and sleep came upon them quickly at sunrise. They found a cave by the sea in which to rest their weary bones in preparation for the journey but sleep was anything but peaceful for Dracula. Nightmares plagued him.

He looked up at the Hotel and saw the fires raging within and he found himself paralyzed with fear. He looked at the remains of his staff with horror. Crumbled stone was all that was left of the gargoyles, the suits of armor lay in fragments, unmoving and white hot, on a huge bonfire and the shrunken heads lay in piles and were little more than ash. The witches were tied to stakes in the front of the courtyard burning on the pyres they were lashed to. Their bodies were twisted in agony and their faces reflected that pain.

He took a deep breath and walked through the front doors into the darkness of the hotel. His eyes reflected the dim light within as he looked through the shadows to see the ruins around him. He heard movement and turned to dodge a body that leaped at him. The figure turned and he stopped and stared. Wayne snarled, foam dripping from his maw as he leaped on Dracula who was frozen in shock. The Vampire screamed in pain as Wayne’s teeth sunk into his shoulder and he wrenched himself from his friend’s jaws.

“Wayne stop!” He pleaded as he dodged a swipe of Wayne’s sharp claws. “Wayne please! I don’t want to hurt you! Wayne listen to me! I know you’re there!”

He raised his arms in defense of Wayne’s claws and cried out as his friend mercilessly slashed his arms. He smelled his own blood and felt the coldness of Wayne’s paws.

“Wayne PLEASE!” He screamed as he tackled the feral werewolf to the ground and pinned him on his stomach.

Wayne was nimble though and wriggled his way out of Dracula’s grasp before lunging forward to bite at his face. Dracula felt Wayne’s teeth dig into his palms as he held the werewolf’s jaws open in front of his face. His breath smelled of blood and rot. He screamed at it all as he tore Wayne’s jaw from his head and held the limp form of his friend whom he considered a brother. He screamed and cried, apologizing repeatedly to Wayne before he felt the chill freezing his bones.

“Awwww, poor little Vladdie.” No, no, please anything but that. “Interesting how such nice people tend to die around you.

He turned to see Mavis grinning maliciously at him and baring her fangs. Her eyes were her own but dark and cold.

“No.” He whispered in horror.

“Oh yes.” She laughed. “Did you really think it would end with your little fucking spell? Oh no. You’re going to pay, not with your life but with the lives of all you love. I think I’m going to like this body. Very nice don’t you think?” She turned to display her body to him. “I’m going to have a lot of fun designing her dreamscape.”

Mavis launched herself at him with a scream that filled him that dug white hot tendrils into his skull and he writhed on the ground in agony and despair as his own daughter flayed him alive and tore him limb from limb before devouring his cold heart.

He awoke to the cold and dark of the cave and screamed until his throat bled. Isobel and Inmoon tried to calm him and give him comfort but their touch was like the touches in his dreams and he only screamed louder and fought them away. They could do nothing as he screamed blood past his lips and cried until nightfall. He was silent after everything and only moved outside and took to the skies to continue the search for Lorelay. He ignored Inmoon’s calls to him and winced as her saddened howl ripped through the cold night air.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGBREAKWOWISCAREMYSELFSOMETIMESPAGEBREAKPAGBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGBREAK**

_It’s been two more years and we have perfected our spell. We perform it tonight at the height of the moon’s cycle and the night of the summer solstice. It is when the Vours are at their weakest. I knew that sacrifices were to be made and the sacrifices are to be us. We will not live through this night. The spell will kill us._

_Vladislav Dracula_

 


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which monster origins are learned, Dracula joins in a song that is distinctly not child friendly, we meet a new character who seems to have some modesty issues, and Martha left a letter for her daughter.

Dracula remained silent throughout the journey to the sacred lake where Lorelay dwelled and ignored his friend’s attempts to talk to him. It was a tense flight but he couldn’t have cared less. The remnants of his dream still stuck in his mind and he could still feel the ghost of his little Mavy-Wavey’s claws ripping his skin off. The pain he felt in the dream was realistic and it had been a long time since he had felt pain on that level. It made him wonder if he could do this. He hadn’t fought in a long time and while he certainly hadn’t forgotten what things like that felt like Dracula wasn’t too sure how well he could handle pain of that intensity now. He had been flayed, burned at the stake, drowned, hanged, drawn and quartered, disemboweled and so many other things too many times to count.

Dracula was afraid. He had so much more to lose than his life this time. He had family, loved ones who would pay a high price if he failed.

He had died once, dying a second time couldn’t be so bad.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKLOOKATHTEEXPRESSIONSINTHEMOVIEPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

They all had to take a break and ponder that last entry. The spell will kill them and they all had to stop and realize exactly what Dracula had been through and all that he had suffered through in his very long life. They sat in silence, in too much shock to even cry, for hours before they mustered up the courage to turn the page.

_I cannot rightfully explain how I can possibly be here writing this. We completed the spell and it has been four years since that day but it was the blink of an eye to us. I remember performing the spell and the agony involved in it. We channeled the energy of the elements without a filter and it tore us apart from the inside. I remember the feeling of my organs rupturing and tearing. I remember the blood filling my lungs and the burning need for air as I drowned in my own blood. I remember the Vours fighting against us and ripping the flesh from my bones in an attempt to stop us._

_I am dead. We all are._

_None of us have any blood in our veins and we’ve split our wrists wide enough to know. We have no heartbeat and we don’t have to breathe to live but that doesn’t take away the feeling of suffocation it brings. I don’t breathe when I sleep and I always wake up to that horrible burn and greedily gasp for air._

_None of us are human anymore. I have fangs, I have retractable claws, my eyes are red, I can see in the dark and change my form to a bat or mist. I have wings, huge wings with long claws and sharp bone protrusions. Inmoon is a silver wolf as tall as I am and she still stands on two legs and her eyes are purple. She has a mixture of hands and paws, the fur on her back is like steel and can easily cut through flesh when her hackles are raised. Isobel is so pale that her skin is almost clear. Her eyes are white and dead and her flesh is riddled with thick black veins that bulge out grotesquely. Viore is as he was aside from the bright orange of his eyes and wings of pure fire. Lorelay’s blonde hair hovers around her as if she is constantly underwater. Her teeth are sharp and fierce and her eyes are black. Her body is covered in shimmering scales and her fingers and toes are webbed. She has claws as well. Zeyphx wears a green robe of dirt and stone that merges with the earth beneath his feet. It is literally made of earth and crackles with his movements. His eyes are a vibrant green._

_The best that I can figure we were petrified for those four years, in a stasis of some kind. We’ve meditated in search of the elemental energies but we cannot find them anymore._

_We are young once more and I look like a child again, we all do and we are all hungrier than we have ever been in our lives._

_Vladislav Dracula_

They all stopped again and this time Mavis did cry. She dropped the book on the cold stone floor and buried her face in Johnny’s shoulder. Everyone was speechless and their emotions were so strong and so many that they could no longer identify what they were feeling and instead felt nothing.

“Dracula man, why didn’t you tell me?” Frank whispered in horror.

“He has his reasons I guess.” Johnny muttered back but there was nothing anyone could say to lift the burden of this knowledge from them.

“All this time he’s been dealing with stuff like this and none of us knew. None of us could see how much he was really hurting.” Frank said as tears shimmered in his eyes.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBERAKPAGEBREAKTADAMONSTERORIGINSPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

He heard her voice drifting to him through the mists and over the shore of the lake. She was here and he took a moment to simply listen to the song of his old friend.

_I am a creature of the wood_

_Forsaken in my solitude_

_My song is pleasure and is pain_

_My song can drive a man insane_

_So come with me, my pipes I’ll play_

_And we will dance ‘till break of day_

_I shall be thy lover_

Her voice was strong as it drifted through the haunting mists that surrounded the trio. It was hypnotic and had they been mortal they would have succumbed to the siren’s song.

_I've been alive since time began,_

_not beast, not god, and yet not man_

_I am the music and the dance,_

_I am the piper who enchants_

_So loose all ties to mortal kind,_

_my pipes shall play within thy mind_

_I shall be thy lover_

 

The vampire grinned to himself and, before Lorelay could start, he sang the next verse into the chilling fog and grey landscape.

_Come unto me my beauteous maid,_

_I'll lead thee to the hidden glade_

_Thou shalt be happy and be free,_

_when I play, thou wilt dance for me_

_We'll feast on fruit fresh from the vine,_

_and I will sample the fruit of thine_

_I shall be thy lover_

 

He smiled wider as he sensed her surprise. She was looking for him now and she would make her way to them from wherever she was in the lake. He sang the next verse as well.

_Sweet love I'll make for thee alone,_

_and show thee sights before unknown_

_I'll be thy master and thy friend,_

_for I'm the gold at rainbow's end_

_I am the beast within all men,_

_I am the rhyme past mortal ken_

_I shall be thy lover_

They both sang the rest of the song together, their voices melding together to create a haunting melody at the lakeside.

_I've played my pipes before man's dawn,_

_seen maidens ripe, turn pale and wan_

_Taught man the art of song and dance,_

_yet had to part from mortal clans_

_I must return to silent dells,_

_no fire burns, and nature dwells_

_So take thy rest within the shade,_

_and as the evening hours fade_

_I'll take thee deeper in the glade,_

_my cloven hooves through heather wade_

_I'll teach thee things man has forbade,_

_our souls entwined and unafraid_

_I shall be thy lover_

 

 

_I am a creature of the wood,_

_forsaken in my solitude_

_My song is pleasure and is pain,_

_my song can drive a man insane_

_So come with me, my pipes I'll play,_

_and we will dance 'till break of day_

_I shall be thy lover_

 

By the time the song had ended Lorelay had emerged from the shroud of fog and stood before Dracula, unabashed in her nudity. Her golden locks floated about her head, spread out like a glorious halo in the dark, moving and shifting as if still under water. Her black eyes were gentle and her voluptuous red lips parted in a kind smile revealing her sharp white teeth. Her tanned skin sparkled in the faint moonlight as it reflected her scales. The dorsal fin on her back following her spine flattened to form a shining rainbow cape. Her body was well shaped and curved sensually in all of the right places.

“Do you ever wear clothes anymore?” Dracula laughed when he saw her.

“This is far more comfortable.” Lorelay’s voice was haunting, melodious and sensual as it had always been.

It was the kind of voice that made you want to do anything for its owner.

“Well, you need clothes.”

“What’s wrong Vlad?” Her smile vanished.

“The seal is breaking Lorelay. We have to face them again.”

She gasped and her terror was evident on her face. She looked close to tears but she held back her emotions well. Lorelay had always felt things so deeply, she was a gentle person but a rage lingered beneath her surface that no one should ever have the misfortune of meeting. She nodded as she gathered herself and took deep steadying breaths. Dracula closed his eyes and tried to relax.

Then he heard her scream.

His eyes shot open just in time to catch Lorelay as she stumbled into his arms with an arrow embedded in her chest. He shook with rage as he smelled her blood. He heard Isobel screech and the stillness of the night broke into a sudden gale that tore his cape from his body in a tattered bloody mess.

He laid her down gently in the sand before turning around to see the group of humans gathered upwind of them on a hillside a fair distance away. He was there in seconds. His form changed in less time than that.

He towered over the group of slayers and snarled at them with his long teeth. His skin had turned gray and his clothing had melted into him. His talons thickened, his jaw broadened as his whole body grew massive. A tail, void of flesh extended above his head, tail blade pointed threatening at the group, as his ears grew larger and pointed, and the flesh of his nose faded leaving only bone left in its wake. His jaw grew and there was little of his face other than a wicked mouth of long fangs that looked akin to a menacing grin. His muscles doubled and gone was the thin form of Count Dracula, replaced by a monstrous beast.

“You dare?!” He snarled and they had the manners to be afraid. “You fools! You don’t even know who you’re up against! I have no time for your games. You have five seconds to leave before I kill you all! Your lives are a small price to pay for the world.”

A woman stepped forward, brandishing a crossbow with a look of hatred and defiance in her eyes.

“Someone has to stop you monsters! I knew y-“She wasn’t even able to finish her sentence before Dracula’s hand snapped forward and wrapped around her neck.

His black talons dug cruelly into her flesh. He grabbed her shoulders and ripped her head and spinal cord from her body in a splatter of blood and the snap of flesh. He turned his angry gaze back on the rest of the group.

“Three seconds.” He hissed.

They were smart and ran as fast as their mortal feet could carry them.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKWOAHDRACPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

Jonathan stared sadly up at the portrait of Martha and Dracula and sighed. He stepped forward, never taking his gaze from the painting of the vampirette.

“I wonder if you knew about any of this.” He whispered. “I wish I could talk to you. Something is coming, I can feel it and I know you would have known what to do.”

He sank to the floor and rested his back against Dracula’s coffin.

“I just, don’t really know how to deal with all of this and neither does anyone else. I can see it. Listening to all of that…I can understand why he’s so afraid of humans. At first I thought it was just what happened with you but….he’s been hunted and hurt his whole life. Even before he was a vampire.”

Johnny sighed again in the dark and clutched the book to his chest that held Dracula’s story. It had suddenly become so heavy in his arms.

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to fix this. Hell, I don’t know if this can be fixed. Last time Drac fought those things he died!”

Johnny wiped away the tears forming in his eyes.

“I really care about the guy you know? I’m so worried and scared. I know I’m not supposed to be scared bury your fears and all that but I am. I really am. I don’t want to lose him. But then again, would that be so bad? He’d be with you again and all of this wouldn’t affect him anymore.”

A chill swept through the boy suddenly and he shivered in the sullen gloom of Dracula’s chambers. He dropped the book and the pages splayed out before him. He nearly closed the book but as he caught a glimpse of the words on the page he stopped to read.

_Martha has met Inmoon and I’m surprised that the introductions went as smoothly as they did. Inmoon is very good at saying the wrong thing or being too blunt. Martha piqued her sense of curiosity and for once I did not have to speak for her in the presence of a stranger, she is far too shy and tends to cover that up with aggression. I enjoyed the opportunity to talk with Inmoon again. I have missed her immensely as I have missed the other four Pillars Lorelay, Isobel, Viore and Zeyphx. I caught an odd look from Martha once but it faded quickly._

_Vladislav Dracula_

“So you did know.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

He flipped idly through a few more pages before Mavis ran in with his friends following her, the camera still active.

“Johnny, I just found a letter from my mother hidden in the book she gave me!” She exclaimed.

“Really?” He asked with a grin as he closed the book. “Dude let’s hear it!”

She sat down next to him and ripped open the letter with a fingernail. Johnny pulled her close and they took a steadying breath before she began reading.

_My dear Mavis if you’re reading this without me then that means I’m dead. I love you honey and never forget that. I wish I could have seen you grow up and I’m sure your father has done a wonderful job raising you. No one thought he would make a good father but he proved them wrong. Within your first few weeks with us he couldn’t resist holding at every opportunity and kept waking you up. He loves you so much._

_But there are things you need to know about your father that he certainly won’t tell you willingly and not because of the oath he took. He’s afraid to. He doesn’t want anyone to know about his past. He refuses to talk about it because it’s too painful for him. He still wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. It’s something he would rather forget but someone can never forget their duties._

_Your father is one of the six Elementals. He is the embodiment of Shadow and his friends, the other Pillars are the rest of the elements. He literally is Shadow._

_He is The Guardian of Monsters as Inmoon is The Gatekeeper. Isobel is The Guide, Viore is The Guardian of Humans and Zeyphx is The Eye. Each one has their duties to attend but the Vours are a foe that only they can face._

_Should you ever find yourself in a situation where his duties come into play Mavis, listen to him and follow his instructions to the letter._

_Despite what you may think Mavis, I never bonded with your father and I never told him why because it’s something that he needs to figure out for himself. But I can tell you and maybe you can drill it into his sweet thick skull._

_I am not your father’s zing. Because of this I know that I will die. He was my zing but I was not his. I knew this the moment I met Inmoon. Sometimes, Mavis, love doesn’t hit you like fireworks. Sometimes love sneaks into your heart and hides away, tapping softly at your shoulder. I’m fine with this and I only hope that he realizes this and accepts it so that he can be happy._

_I love you so much Mavis. Please be there for your father, sometimes he needs a helping hand._

_With all my love, your Mother_

_Martha Dracula_

They were silent for a long time, simply staring up at the painting before them and thinking over the information Martha had given them. She was just as smart as Dracula, they had been so perfect for each other.

 


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which three vastly ancient beings are not nearly as mature as they should be.

He watched them run until they had faded into the mists and he tried to push down the darkness that had overtaken him. He looked down and saw the blood spattered on his form and the bloody mess of meat at his feet. He gasped for air and fought away his rage. He shook his head as his body convulsed and eyes flickered with a black flame.

“Vlad?” Inmoon called out tentatively as she approached. “Shadow?” She whispered when she saw his struggles.

He stood and glared at her as those black flames seeped from his eyes. When he spoke his accent was gone and his voice boomed in her head even as she heard it in her ears. He whispered and spoke and shouted all at the same time.

“I will not stand for such incursions during this time. How fares Water? Can her vessel be healed?”

“We are trying to speak with her. We need Vlad. Surrender his body, it is not yours to claim and he is too distraught to fight off your influence. Do not betray him like this Shadow.”

The glare she received was nothing short of demonic even after Dracula’s body had shifted back into his human form.

“I know you’re angry but don’t let it control you. Look at what you’ve done to that human at your feet. How do you think Vlad is going to react to that?! None of your reassurances or consoling is going to make him feel better and you know it Shadow! Now let him go!”

Those eyes lost their murderous rage and Dracula’s whole form deflated. Those eyes looked sadly at Inmoon before the black flame subsided and the vampire sunk to his knees in front of the corpse, his blue eyes like glass.

“Vlad?” Inmoon called softly.

“Shut up.” He whispered and shook his head. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear it.” He began to cry. “How dare you. Shut up!”

He stood up and in a flash he was by Lorelay’s side.

“I will speak with Shadow Inmoon. He knows the treachery he has committed.” She heard Spirit’s voice echo in her head as she turned to follow Dracula.

“The arrow was poisoned Vlad. I dinnae what te do. She kin hardly speak.” Isobel informed him as he knelt down.

“Lorelay.” He whispered as he gently cupped her face. “Lorelay do you have a cure?”

She could only nod.

“In your home?”

She nodded again and he stood.

“Keep her awake and out of harm’s way until I return. I know what I’m looking for.”

Isobel and Inmoon nodded as he jumped into the lake and disappeared beneath the surface. There was no question that it should be Vlad who goes to find the cure, he understood magic better than any of them. All they could do was wait and try to ease the suffering of their friend.

Dracula’s lungs burned for air but all he could fill them with was water. He refused to surface as he powered his way through the murky depths into Lorelay’s home. The door was round and carved from the stone around it. He pulled open the door and swam inside. He had little time to admire Lorelay’s craftsmanship as he moved through the place to find her collection. Lorelay always loved to collect things she found by the lake and there were crystal glasses, clocks and watches, jewelry and other interesting things lining the shelves. He was in agony as each breath of water burned his lungs. Then his eyes found what he needed.

It looked like a simple stone but there was a faint green glow through the cracks and imperfections in its surface. He turned it over in his hands and felt the lightness of it. The cure was contained inside a protective shell of stone. He tucked it into the pocket of his vest before swimming back out to the main door.

“Hurry.” Shadow urged him.

He reached for the handle of the door but when he pushed it broke off in his hand. A surge of panic surged through him that was both his and Shadow’s. He ripped Sirith off of his back and used the sword to pry open the door before extending his wings and using them to rocket himself to the surface.

He coughed out the water violently and greedily gasped for air before diving back under and using his wings to propel him to shore.

“Here!” He shouted as he ran over to them.

He knelt down next to Lorelay and used his claws to gently crack open the stone in his hands. Inside was a thick slime that he coated the area around the arrow with. He placed a cold hand over her eyes before quickly pulling the arrow out of her shoulder and rubbing the medicine into the wound before it closed.  
He visually winced as she screamed in pain.

He fell back onto the sand after bandaging her chest and stared at the starry night sky. All they could do now was wait, so they slept there on the shore.  
Sleep was dreamless that night and Dracula thanked every power in existence for that when he awoke the next evening. It was four days before Lorelay was healed properly and the group did not take the wait very well. Tensions rose and anxiety was through the roof for everyone. They all knew that they didn’t have much time to waste but there was nothing they could do.

Dracula didn’t know how she did it but Isobel somehow managed to get a hold of copious amounts of liquor.

“Do….I even want to know how you got that?” Dracula muttered as she handed him a bottle of bourbon and another of spiced rum.

“Ah should say no. Plausible deniability an all that.” She responded with a shrug of her shoulders.

“What did you do?” He snarled.

“Shut up and drink Vlad.” Inmoon deadpanned after taking a long gulp of vodka.

“There’s plenty more where that came from.” Isobel said with a scotch scented grin.

Dracula surrendered. He couldn’t really scoff, he’d been bored out of his skull and worry was slowly eating away his soul. Tonight would be a time to simply forget everything for a few hours and have fun with old friends.

**More than a few shots later:**

“What the actual fuck?!” Inmoon shouted and Dracula collapsed in a fit of laughter on the sand.

“What…..just….WHAT!?”

“You heard me.” He giggled.

“Johnny actually did that?” Lorelay asked, she had been allowed to join in the festivities as well but she needed to be careful.

“Yes. It freaked me out. I thought my powers had gone haywire or something. He got nearly everyone in the Hotel in on it too. In random intervals all of my guests would just freeze at the same time. They did that all day.” Dracula sulked.

“This guy sounds fun.” Isobel giggled. “Tell us more.”

“Well….he watched something called an anime once and Mavis ran around the hotel screaming ‘boobies’.” He laughed. “I have no idea.” He responded to their confused looks.

“Tell them about the flying table wars!” Inmoon yelled excitedly.

Dracula happily obliged and laughed throughout the whole story. Their story telling soon turned to reminiscing about funny adventures from their own past.

“Do you remember when we first came across a lion?” Inmoon laughed.

“Yes!” Dracula doubled over laughing. “We were all like ‘oh my god! Aaaaaaaah!’ screaming like little girls and Zeyphx was just like ‘’sup. Sorry brother I did not mean to offend you.’ We’re still freaking out behind him!”

“Do ye remember when we braided Inmoon’s hair in the middle of the night?” Isobel asked and everyone groaned.

“That was such a colossally bad idea.” Lorelay moaned. “We should have known better than to put the pink bows in.”

Inmoon grinned evilly as she took another gulp of her vodka.

“How about all of Vlad’s ‘mad scientist’ moments huh?” She laughed.

“Like when he figured out how to turn people into animals via turning himself into a squirrel?” Lorelay giggled.

“How aboot when he blew up our shack?” Isobel glared at him.

“I told you I was sorry.” Dracula muttered with a blush.

“Then there was that time you got all messed up on the fumes of a potion and wound up eating a lion…..naked.” Inmoon laughed.

“Hey, I said it back then and I’ll say it now. The lion was naked, it was only polite!” His blush darkened.

Then a little while later the songs around the campfire began.

_About a maid I’ll sing a song,_   
_Sing rickety-tickety-tin,_   
_About a maid I’ll sing a song_   
_Who didn’t have her family long._   
_Not only did she do them wrong,_   
_She did ev’ryone of them in, them in,_   
_She did ev’ryone of them in._

_One morning in a fit of pique,_   
_Sing rickety-tickety-tin,_   
_One morning in a fit of pique,_   
_She drowned her father in the creek._   
_The water tasted bad for a week,_   
_And we had to make do with gin, with gin,_   
_We had to make do with gin._

_Her mother she could never stand,_   
_Sing rickety-tickety-tin,_   
_Her mother she could never stand,_   
_And so a cyanide soup she planned._   
_The mother died with a spoon in her hand,_   
_And her face in a hideous grin, a grin,_   
_Her face in a hideous grin._

_She set her sister’s hair on fire,_   
_Sing rickety-tickety-tin,_   
_She set her sister’s hair on fire,_   
_And as the smoke and flame rose high’r,_   
_Danced around the funeral pyre,_   
_Playin’ a violin, -olin,_   
_Playin’ a violin._

_She weighted her brother down with stones,_   
_Rickety-tickety-tin,_   
_She weighted her brother down with stones,_   
_And sent him off to davy jones._   
_All they ever found were some bones,_   
_And occasional pieces of skin, of skin,_   
_Occasional pieces of skin._

_One day when she had nothing to do,_   
_Sing rickety-tickety-tin,_   
_One day when she had nothing to do,_   
_She cut her baby brother in two,_   
_And served him up as an irish stew,_   
_And invited the neighbors in, -bors in,_   
_Invited the neighbors in._

_And when at last the police came by,_   
_Sing rickety-tickety-tin,_   
_And when at last the police came by,_   
_Her little pranks she did not deny,_   
_To do so she would have had to lie,_   
_And lying, she knew, was a sin, a sin,_   
_Lying, she knew, was a sin._

_My tragic tale, I won’t prolong,_   
_Rickety-tickety-tin,_   
_My tragic tale I won’t prolong,_   
_And if you do not enjoy the song,_   
_You’ve yourselves to blame if it’s too long,_   
_You should never have let me begin, begin,_   
_You should never have let me begin._

“Oh sweet mother of mercy. Ah bet ye that if ah burped ah could light it on fire ah’ve drank so much.” Isobel slurred.

“Vlad beat you to it.” Lorelay chuckled.

“WHAT?!”

“You were off making water in the bushes and he got the idea. Do you not smell the burnt hair?”

“I told Inmoon not to stand there.” Dracula mumbled with a grin whilst the shewolf glared into the fire.

Once Inmoon had ceased her sulking over the burnt section of her fur things picked up again.

“Inmoon! Inmoon ah was jokin!”

“It’s getting away! It’s getting away!”

“Inmoon, stop!” Dracula laughed as she rolled on the ground. “You can’t actually bite your own nose!”

**I think they need help:**

“I think we should stop drinking.” Inmoon muttered and got a few fierce glares. “Come on guys, we just built a small house out of liquor bottles!”

“It’s a beergloo thank you.” Dracula corrected.

“Whatever!”

“Being immortal has its perks, you have to admit Inmoon.”

“Like, no alcohol poisoning?”

“Exactly! You win another bottle!”

**Aaaaaand a few more shots:**

“NO!!!!!” Lorelay, Inmoon and Dracula screamed and rushed forward to cover Isobel’s mouth.

“Please God no.” Dracula muttered. “Do NOT sing, please.”

“Why not?” She sulked.

“Ummmm..”

“Eeeerm.”

“You’re tone deaf. Very hideously tone deaf.”

“It’s called tact Inmoon!” Dracula screamed.

“And you never told me?!”

“Scatter!” Dracula shrieked as the wind picked up.

**Nice going guys:**

Dracula woke up snuggling Inmoon inside the “beergloo”. They had managed to royally piss off Isobel the previous night by accidentally revealing to her that she was tone deaf. They sought shelter in the hut made of glass bottles and Isobel thought it was too pretty to tear down and that is the only reason they are alive.

He thought about moving away from Inmoon and out of the “beergloo”, who was snuggled against his chest, but that would have meant waking her up. He didn’t have a hangover, he’d never had one and that was a fact he rubbed in his friends’ faces. That also meant that he was crowned babysitter when everyone awoke. He laid there and wondered where the hell his shirt went as he wrapped his arms around Inmoon and admired the rainbows dancing around them.

They had been drinking for two days non-stop and while it was a lot of fun, it reminded him exactly why he tended not to drink around the hotel…or anyone other than these guys. He briefly remembered singing various show tunes in falsetto, matching Inmoon quite well. He was going to kill Johnny for showing him things like Mamma Mia, Grease, Footloose and other movies with REALLY catchy tunes. He had forgotten just how high he could go.  
He also remembered the girls singing something blatantly sexual, something about being bad and perfectly good at it and another about down and up or whatever, and dancing very sensually around him. His three VERY attractive female friends. He turned into a cherry for a while but he had started that one by singing Casual Sex by My Darkest Days and S.E.X. by Nickleback.

Yes. He was going to KILL Johnny for showing him those songs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was absolutely fun to write and the beergloo still cracks me up to this day! Hope you got a laugh out of it too.


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things get monsterously punny......and the author is NOT sorry.

It was a while into the day before anyone was able to get up and continue the journey. Hangovers were shared and Dracula was once again the odd man out on such festivities. Not that he complained. He gave a few laughs and received more than a few slaps for his amusement. As the moon rose their hangovers wore off and they packed up their meager belongings and set off for their next destination.

“Thank you Vlad.” Lorelay said in her rich voice with a subtle British accent.

“No thanks required my friend. You know I’d give my life for you.” Dracula responded as they walked across the countryside.

“You already have. Several times.”

“The same to you Lorelay.”

“It is good to see you again.”

“I’ve missed you too.”

They decided on a plane which would be the fastest route to America and Viore. Lorelay’s nakedness would have to be resolved of course and their group couldn’t get on the plane looking like a group of enthusiastic anime fans. They couldn’t draw too much attention to themselves after all and it would be fairly simple to hide the weapons with a glamor spell. It was Inmoon’s appearance that they needed to worry about.

“I do want to know how you got all of that liquor last night.” Dracula said to Isobel as they walked.

“Ah dun think ye do.” She responded as she took a swig from a bottle of scotch.

“Yes, I do.” He growled.

“Ah knocked over a liquor store.” She said.

“YOU WHAT!?” He bellowed.

“Will ye relax. Ah dinnae rob it…..ah just literally knocked it over.”

“And that’s better HOW!?”

“You know Vlad.” Lorelay said as she passed by. “Sometimes I want to shove a lamp up your ass just so you’ll lighten up a bit.”

The girls laughed and continued to walk away while Dracula deflated and glared at their retreating forms.

“I feel outnumbered again.” He mumbled.

The journey to the nearest city was a short one once Dracula and Isobel took to the sky and Inmoon and Lorelay began to run. Dracula swept into the nearest shop and took enough clothes for everyone and leaving money behind for each item he took. He returned and they all got dressed quickly before casting a glamor on their weapons and themselves.

It had been a long time since Inmoon had seen her human form. She had long black hair and almond eyes that revealed her long forgotten Asian heritage. She was almost hypnotized by her own reflection at first as for Dracula the hypnosis never seemed to wear off.

It was odd moving through a city and blending in. They were surrounded by humans and not a single one knew what they really were.

“They’re all staring.” Inmoon mumbled as they waited in the airport checking lines.

“They’re staring because you’re gorgeous.” Dracula said before he could think enough to stop it.

She was beautiful. She was wearing a red sleeveless top with silver straps that ran around her neck, a pair of black pants that hugged her form and a pair of black shoes.

“Yea, we’re sexy!” Isobel excitedly stage whispered.

“Isobel, they’re staring at you because you’re drunk.” Dracula deadpanned. “Again.”

“Ahm always drunk.” She giggled.

“You know that’s not a good thing, right?”

“It’s better than the alternative.” She responded seriously. “How do ye deal with et all Vlad? Because from where ahm standin’ et’s not good. Inmoon’s emotion switch is permanently stuck on aggressive, Lorelay’s a sex addict, Viore is an adrenaline junkie, ye let your fear run yer life and Zeyphx is hopelessly, incurably insane. So, tell me why ah should quit drinking?”

Dracula turned his gaze to the floor with saddened eyes.

“That’s what ah thought.” She finished.

The rest of the wait through security was silent for the group. They snagged a meal before their flight consisting of fish for Lorelay, steak for Inmoon and Dracula, and pizza for Isobel. The Banshee loved her pizza they discovered and she had more than a few slices of cheesy goodness.

“I just read that 4,153,237 people got married last year, not to cause any trouble but shouldn’t that be an even number?” Lorelay asked as she looked up from her magazine as they waited to board their plane.

“How would that work?” Inmoon muttered.

“Did someone finally marry themselves?” Dracula said with narrowed eyes.

“Et was ginnae happen someday.” Isobel laughed.

“Polygamists maybe?” Inmoon asked.

“That’s a possibility.” Lorelay nodded. “Aaaaaand I’m bored now.” She tossed the magazine over her shoulder.

“Ah find et interesting that cologne rhymes wit alone.” Isobel muttered.

“No, it makes _scents_.” Dracula mumbled with a wrinkled nose as a particularly pungent man walked by.

“Did you just…?” Inmoon stared at him.

“Hey!” Lorelay interrupted. “Leave him alone, he just got bit on the wrong side of the neck is all.”

“Yea, ah heard bein’ a Vampire _sucks_.” Isobel joined in.

“He is a bit of a pain in the neck isn’t he?” Inmoon grinned.

“I think I’m just going to order myself a bloody mary and call it good.” Dracula grimaced.

“Why don’t you just get yourself some _veinilla_ ice cream instead?” Lorelay poked him in the ribs as she giggled.

“I might! Just for the halibut!” He shot back. “

“I expect a huge _wave_ of responses from her once she’s given a chance to _mullet_ over.” Inmoon smiled.

“You, my friend.” Lorelay pointed to Inmoon. “Are _barking_ up the wrong tree.”

“ _Whale_ obviously.” Dracula laughed.

“I apologize.” Inmoon responded somberly. “I’m such an animal.

“Oh please. Ye aren’t even trying, that had no _bite_ to it.” Isobel pointed a finger in Inmoon’s face.

“You seem to be getting over confident Isobel.” Dracula grinned widely. “Remember what _ghost_ up must come down, for a haughty _spirit_ goeth before a fall.”

“Don’t ye _cross_ me!”

“Guys, guys!” Inmoon interrupted. “Chill out. Seriously we all just need to find a _happy medium_.”

The group looked at each other for a total of five seconds before laughing until they fell out of their chairs. When they boarded the plane they were still having mild giggle fits. They all chose to sleep during the long flight to America and dozed off the moment the opportunity presented itself.

**A/N: Do these** _**count** _ **as racist jokes……oh man I can’t stop!**

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKISHOULDBESHOTPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKINTHEFACEPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

When they arrived in America they had to get through more security and board another plane to Texas where Viore was. The guy tended to move around and so they had to hurry along before he left to find someplace new to terrorize. It was hot in Texas even during nightfall and they wound up staying in a motel room. The girls took the beds and Dracula was more than happy to hang from the ceiling for the day.

When night rolled around it was time to feed again and each took to their own territories and hunted in their respective manners. Lorelay took the longest as per the norm and everyone waited for her in the motel room.

“Ye know et bugs me a bit that she got some an ah dinnae.” Isobel said and everyone paused. “Oh ye know she had sex wit im before she ate im.”

Dracula shook his head and pleaded that they would find Viore soon. It was awkward being the only guy with three girls, it really was. He sighed and thought back to Mavis in the Hotel. Was she okay? He hoped with everything he had that she was and that she would forgive him if he survived this and made it home again. He also hoped that perhaps this time the other Pillars would join him. He had missed them terribly.

He also understood why each one had run to their own corner of the world eventually. With the power that they held even other monsters, their own kind, feared them. It was painful sometimes seeing fear in the eyes of your own people. He had seen the way Wayne had looked at Inmoon when he saw her fur. It was less painful to live a life in solitude than to live a life surrounded by people and alone.

He couldn’t deny that he had felt the urge to vanish to some dark corner of the world as well and over the years that urge had been growing exponentially. Perhaps when this was all said and done and everything had calmed the ancient Vampire would find a quiet secluded place to live, far away from everyone else. But at the same time he knew it would not be possible. His other friends were not like the Pillars that understood the need for isolation and they would look for him and they would find him.

He knew that if he did that they would never stop looking and he still had a daughter to tend to. He couldn’t run out on her, even if she had Johnny. She does have Johnny now, she doesn’t need him as much anymore. Perhaps it would be possible. It would be an easier life. He wouldn’t have to hide so much of himself away in fear that someone else would see. The fear of frightening his own daughter was always there and if he left he wouldn’t have to worry about it so much.

He was so caught up in his own musings that he didn’t even notice when Lorelay had returned until Inmoon shook his shoulder. He followed them out of the room and checked out wordlessly before moving through the streets toward the outskirts of the city.

“You dream of exile?” Inmoon quietly asked him and he nodded. “In the end there is no right choice. Live a life of pain, fear and lies or sacrifice your humanity to be yourself. A life of reclusion leaves its scars as well.”

Nothing was ever simple anymore. The only thing Dracula was certain about was that he wanted to survive this and see his daughter again.

 


	13. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dracula performs surgery, has a breakdown, and Mavis has feels.

Inmoon’s POV

The darkness was thick and all-consuming around me. It stole into my lungs and froze me from the inside out. I fought and snarled against it as the drums began to pound. I howled to the depths in distress, begging my friends to help me. There was only the drums in response to my howls. The relentless drumming grew louder and louder until it rattled my bones.

The gate glowed before me in the darkness and I watched as a massive crack formed with each steady pound of the drums. The screeching had ceased and only the drums remained. With every beat of the endless drums the crack in the great gate grew in width and length. Symbols fell away in fragments and with a final pound the gate snapped in two.

The darkness shattered around me and the deep black veil fell away in shards revealing a room I was familiar with. I spun back around to the broken gate and came face to face with the long dagger teeth of a Vour as it grinned maliciously. With an unearthly wail it lunged forward and slashed my chest. I fell to the dusty ground in a splatter of deep crimson that spread from my chest.

Dracula’s POV

The screaming is what I woke to, the agonized shrieking coming from Inmoon as she thrashed in her sleep. I dropped from the ceiling and was at her side in a flash. I threw back the covers to be met with a pool of blood that grew wider with every second that passed. I slapped her across the snout and her eyes flashed open only for her to squeeze them shut and scream again in pain.

“Go get towels from the bathroom!” I shouted to Isobel and she scrambled off.

I waved my hand to remove the glamor and was met with a grisly wound that split open Inmoon’s chest. Her fur was matted with blood and I could see her sternum and ribs, a startling white in an ocean of red.

“There’s a severed artery! Get me something to clamp it shut before she petrifies!” I instructed Lorelay as Isobel returned with the stock of towels. “Isobel! Gag her. We can’t have anyone calling the police and then get me your strongest liquors!”

The Banshee pulled a face momentarily but quickly moved to do as I instructed. I pressed a towel to Inmoon’s chest and applied pressure. Isobel returned with a small clip in her hands and I snatched it.

“Hold her down now!” I screamed as I opened a bottle of liquor with my teeth.

The moment she was secure I poured the alcohol over my hands and dumped the rest of the bottle on the gaping wound in Inmoon’s chest. She thrashed violently but there was nothing I could do for her. I grit my teeth and pried apart the bone to get my hands to the severed artery. I pinched it between my fingers and clamped it shut with the clip.

I grabbed one of Inmoon’s throwing knives and slashed open my own leg. I peeled the flesh back and stripped away a section of artery when I found one. It healed quickly and I returned to Inmoon.

“Needle and thread.” I demanded and quickly found the items thrust into my hand.

As quickly as I could I patched Inmoon’s severed artery with the patch taken from my leg. I poured more liquor into the wound as I wiped away blood with the towels. I grabbed onto her ribs and pushed the bones back into their proper place before working feverishly to suture the wound. When that was done I cleansed it one last time with alcohol before wrapping a towel around her torso and leaning back on my knees.

“She needs food or she will petrify.” I said. “Hunt for her.” With that said Isobel and Lorelay ran from the room and into the fading light of day.

I set my gaze back on Inmoon and removed the gag.

“You didn’t eat last night.” I snarled. “If you had eaten you would have healed from that.”

“I couldn’t find anyone alone.” She rasped.

“Then ask for help damn it!” I hissed.

“Vlad.” She gasped weakly. “It was the Vours.”

I sucked in a terrified breath.

“The gate has broken enough that they can slip their influence through and attack us.”

“We’ll have to use protection spells and move faster.” I muttered.

“I know where the gate is.” She whispered. “You aren’t going to like this.”

“Where is it?” Dread pooled in my gut.

“Your Hotel.”

As I fell off the bed in shock Isobel and Lorelay burst through the door carrying a dead man in their arms.

“We found a hitchhiker.” Lorelay said with a grin.

I struggled to breathe as my hands shook and absolute terror froze me to the spot.

“Stop him.” Inmoon gasped.

I looked up to see Isobel and Lorelay turning toward me and I leaped to my feet in a flash. I ran for the door but they grabbed me and slammed me to the ground so hard the pavement cracked beneath me.

“Let me go!” I snarled.

“What’s goin’ on?” Isobel asked.

“The gate is in his hotel.” Inmoon rasped.

“Exactly why you should let me go!” I growled.

“We need ye here Vlad.” Isobel reasoned.

“I told Mavis not to leave the hotel! She’s still in there! I have to get her out now let me go!”

“We need you here.” Lorelay said.

“If she stays she dies! I won’t lose her!”

“The only thing you can do to help is continue what we are doing now.”

“Let me go!”

“Vlad!” Lorelay screamed and when I looked into her eyes they were glowing a deep hypnotic blue. “Sleep.” Her voice was melodic and a weight settled on my eyelids.

“No.” I struggled.

“Sleep.” She sang this time and my eyes slid shut.

“I’ve killed her.” I whispered as I tumbled into the dark. “I’ve killed her.”

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKOHNOESPAGEBREAKPAGBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

_Let’s Check In On the Hotel Shall We:_

A chill had swept through the halls of Hotel Transylvania and a deep shadow settled into every nook and cranny. Not everyone could feel it and some just brushed it away as insignificant. But the steady pounding of drums in the deep haunted everyone’s dreams. No one could escape the relentless beat of those drums behind closed eyes. Even the humans could feel the evil that had taken roost within the walls of a once great sanctuary.

The object of Dracula’s terror wandered the halls and tended to her new duties as Hotel Manager as best could. She felt the chill freezing her bones and rubbed at her arms to try and chase it away. Fear had worked its way deep in to the hearts of monsters everywhere and they knew that something dark loomed on the horizon but none could place what it was. The feeling was ignored by all but a select few held close to Dracula’s heart.

The young Vampiress could feel a presence following her at all hours but there was never anyone there. Her hands shook and thoughts of her father ran through her weary mind. Was he okay? Was she ever going to see him again? She wanted nothing more than to see her father come walking through the doors of the Hotel so she could hug him tight.

Jonathan was a constant source of strength for her in these times as they poured over her father’s writings in the secret chamber beneath his room. The formulas were so complex but just as Johnny had thought; they were finding order within the chaos. A pattern began to emerge and they began grouping things together and as the groups grew larger those manic scribblings began to make sense.

But what they were pulling out of them was often times darker than they could have ever dreamed. There were schematics for a gate of some kind held together by a magic so powerful it would tear any living being to pieces should they attempt to channel it, and that is exactly what had happened during the gate’s construction. It had torn apart her father from the inside.

They found more formulas attempting to find a way to kill non corporeal beings but no success had been found in those as of yet. They could be contained but not killed and it was obviously something her father had obsessed over. His writings spoke of test subjects and failures resulting in near possession. It was horrifying.

But there were others that seemed to be for the sole purpose of lightening his spirits and these formulas were for more simple things. New protection spells for the Hotel, charms to give guests good dreams, hangover cures, new blood substitutes, there was an endless list of things that took up her father’s time in that hidden chamber.

Her mother had known about all of this. That thought plagued her mind. Martha had been the only one who knew everything about her father. Why had he fought to keep it all a secret? Did he think they would be afraid? Perhaps he thought they would run, hurt him even? Those thoughts stung more than anything. That it would even cross her father’s mind that she could ever be afraid of him was painful. He was her father and she loved him. She would never stop loving him.

That icy chill swept through her bones again as she worked in her father’s office organizing events and making sure everything was in order. She shook away the feeling and stood to make her way into the kitchen and check on how the evening meal was coming along. Wanda, Frank and Johnny had been working away in there since sundown and Johnny’s friends decided to film the event. She could only pray that everything was going well and on schedule. When Johnny and her uncle Frank were in the same room things tended to get a little exciting because they got along so well.

 


	14. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the phoenix is Texan, the author has way too much fun with southern euphemisms, and the Oracle is bugfuck insane.

When Dracula awoke he came to understand the need for him to remain with Inmoon, Isobel and Lorelay to gather the last two Pillars. It would be far too much of a risk for him to go back to the Hotel. He was needed with his friends to help protect them and their mission and as much as he despised this fact there was nothing he could do about it. He was no longer interested in reminiscing and talking with his old friends and was instead solely focused on the task at hand. No one could blame him though none of them could truly understand how he felt either, none of them had created a life for themselves. None of them had fallen in love and none of them had children.

“Vlad?” Inmoon asked cautiously.

“What?” He responded coldly.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Do not offer me comfort!” He whirled on her in a flash of bared fangs. “You do not understand my pain so shut your mouth before I rip it from your mangy body!”

With that he stalked away and took to the darkened skies leaving Inmoon standing on the ground with tears leaking from her eyes. She snarled angrily before running across the land in search of Viore.

The search didn’t take too long and when they found him it was at the tail end of a rodeo. They walked through the dust and shouting people to find him preparing for the wild horse races with an eager grin on his face.

Viore was shorter than Dracula but then again everyone in their group was. He was muscular and his long black hair was pulled into a braid. His skin was tanned due to his Native American heritage and he wore a pair of blue jeans, a plaid shirt, a pair of cowboy boots and a hat to match.

“Viore!” Isobel shouted happily and at the sound of his true name the man stiffened and whirled to face them.

Isobel ran and smashed into him with the force of a freight train as she strangled him in a hug. He wheezed desperately before the short woman realized and climbed off of him with a sheepish grin.

“Well, howdy to ya’ll too.” He drawled with a tip of his hat. “Nice to see ya’ll ag’in.” He grinned.

“Am ah really tone deaf?” Isobel asked sadly.

“Ya little cotton pickers! Ya’ll told ‘er?!” Viore hissed and grimaced before lighting up a cigarette. “No offense hun’ but ya couldn’t carry a tune if ya had a bucket with a lid on it.”

Isobel’s response was to pout childishly and he laughed and wrapped a bulky arm around her dainty shoulders.

“The gate is breaking.” Dracula said.

“Well……” He said with wide eyes. “Ain’t that a pickle. Jus’ lemme finish this ride ‘ere and I’ll be on this like a duck on a june bug. I got a lot ridin’ on this ‘ere competition.”

“Viore.” Dracula snarled. “Do not test us. Either you come with us now or we kill the damn beasts, how does that sound?” His eyes turned red and his voice grew to a shout and whisper.

“Well ain’t he meaner than chicken shit today.” Viore muttered. “Fine. But ya’ll are costin’ me a pretty penny ‘ere.”

“If it is that important then we can compensate for your losses.” Dracula growled as he turned around and began to leave.

“You an’ me need ta have a talk.” Viore glared up at Dracula after he caught up.

“Talking wastes time.”

“Oh land o mercy! Pull yer head outta yer ass fer a few minutes and tell me what bit ya!” Viore shouted and pulled on Dracula’s shoulder.

Dracula’s response was a deep hiss.

“Either ya tell me what’s wrong or I’ll knock yer teeth in faster ‘n a shot dog through a barn.” Viore glared fearlessly into Dracula’s blood red eyes.

“The Gate will open in my Hotel. My daughter is in my Hotel. I think that is enough of an explanation."

“Then let’s git on this, but this attitude o yers stops. It’s ‘bout as useful as a trapdoor in a canoe right now an’ ya know it. So act like ya got some raisin’ and stop lashing out at us fer this.”

They walked out of the rodeo in silence and once they were a good distance away Viore unfurled his flaming wings and took to the skies joined quickly by Isobel and Dracula as Lorelay and Inmoon ran beneath them. Their next destination would take them deep into the Amazon Rainforest to find their last companion and hopefully he would be lucid enough to be of use to them.

The journey did not take them long and they soon found themselves navigating the treacherous terrain of the Amazon Rainforest. Flight was useless and so they traveled by foot and removed their glamours for the time being. The only people they would run into were isolated tribes of cannibals and the scarier they looked, the better. It took them three days to find their final friend. The man was good at living without leaving a sign of his presence behind and it took a keen eye to find anything to point them in the right direction.

They overheard a pair of women talking as they washed their clothes in the river. Their conversation was about a forbidden area of the rainforest that was said to house a vengeful God. A few villagers, mostly naïve children, had wandered into the territory of this God and were never seen again. The five monsters knew that this was the sign they had been waiting for and immediately set off for the forbidden section of jungle.

Dracula had been eerily silent throughout the journey and everyone was on edge because of this. He was angry and scared and everyone did their best to accommodate him and cheer him up but nothing had really worked.

“Look bud. Come hell r high water we’ll lick ‘em and eve’ythin’ll be fine.” Viore had told him and Dracula hadn’t even looked at him.

It was painful to watch Dracula shut down as he was and they tried as hard as they could to pull him out of it as they traveled deeper into Zeyphx’s territory. There were more and more animals gathered together the farther they walked and as they noticed that they knew that they had made the right choice.

It was on their third day of searching through the Rainforest that they found him. The five were walking through the thick underbrush when they heard a low whisper and moved toward it. They found Zeyphx kneeling beside the river with his back facing them.

“They taste like lady fingers.” He whispered lowly.

“Zeyphx?” Dracula called out gently.

“No!” The man hissed. “No, no listening. We taste. No listening now.” He muttered through a full mouth.

“He’s not lucid.” Dracula sighed.

“Let me talk te him.” Isobel said and cautiously made her way over.

Lorelay leaned against Viore, seeking comfort from the painful scene before them. Inmoon grasped Dracula’s hand tightly and he returned her grip as he watched Isobel approach their friend.

“Zeyphx.” She called out. “Ye aren’t lucid.” She approached slowly.

“Shhhh. No listening. We need to see.”

“Zeyphx, we need ye ta come back te us.” She said. “Ye aren’t grounded. Ground yerself. Ye need te see more than what ye are right now. Come back te us.”

She reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder and he froze. She leaned over and looked at what he was holding to see a small human hand. It had been gnawed upon and teeth marks ground deeply into the bone beneath severed tendons that hung down and swayed with Zeyphx’s rhythmic rocking. He looked up at her with dead eyes and blood dribbling down his chin. Strips of flesh were tangled between his teeth and he worked his tongue over them.

“Grounded. Yes. We see too much now. See less.”

“There ya go. See less. Et’s alright. Come back now. Et’s time te come back.”

His eyes slowly came back to life and returned to bright hues of swirling green. He shook his head back and forth before looking to the tiny hand in his grip and dropping it with a startled yell. He recoiled from the severed limb as it drifted farther into the deep waters and drifted down stream. Zeyphx tangled a bloody hand in his black mangled beard and turned to face everyone with wide frightened eyes.

“We are sorry.” He said quietly.

“It’s okay Zeyphx.” Dracula said gently. “But we need to go.”

“We know.” The scraggly black man responded. “We have seen.” He gestured to his own eyes. “To your Hotel. Quickly now!” He took off at a run through the rainforest and all anyone could do was shake their heads and follow after their friend.

“Think he’ll be able to decipher his own visions enough to help?” Inmoon whispered as she squeezed Dracula’s hand.

“I don’t know.” He responded as he gazed at their intertwined hands with the realization of what they were doing. “I hope so.” He said with a small grin as he comfortingly tightened his grip on her hand.

He looked ahead of them and smiled wider as he saw Zeyphx and Isobel zipping all over creation and laughing as they traded jokes. He saw Lorelay continuing to lean against Viore’s sturdy frame and happiness returned to him in those moments. He was once again surrounded by the friends that he had missed so much. When he was with those five people he was home. It didn’t matter if he was in Alaska, Japan, or Russia if they were with him he was home and it was good to finally be home again.

It didn’t take them long to get to an airport and board a plane that would take them back to Romania. The trip couldn’t have been longer for Dracula.

 


	15. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins.

The plane ride back to Romania mostly consisted of keeping Zeyphx calm and lucid. His fits were unpredictable and it was far too easy for him to lose himself in his own visions. It was no surprise that Zeyphx lost his sanity after everything that he had been through. Unlike everyone else, Zeyphx could not simply cast those memories away. He lived with them daily, in his visions as he viewed all of time at once. The burden of The Eye was the greatest of them all and insanity was the price of such power. Dracula still found himself shedding tears over the centuries for Zeyphx's loss. It was painful to see his dear friend like this when he had once been so strong.

It was decided that he would be put to sleep for the duration. It would not do for Zeyphx to have a fit on board an airplane. There was no guarantee that they could restrain him and he would certainly kill people. Dracula would not condone the loss of anymore lives than needed. He scowled out the window and turned to look around the plane. Across the aisle sat Isobel with Zeyphx sleeping peacefully on her shoulder as she soothingly stroked his hair. He looked ahead of them to find Viore and Lorelay talking animatedly about a few of their own ventures and clinging to one another like a life raft. His eyes drifted to his right side and the odd sight of Inmoon shrouded in a glamor.

Her black hair reached down to the crest of her buttocks and her almond eyes still retained their bright purple hue. Her C cup breasts poked out from behind a red blouse and her skinny jeans hugged her strong legs. The blouse's back dipped low and gave a generous vew of her sharp shoulderblades and rippling back muscles, honed from years of fighting. She stared, bewildered, at her hands that were so startlingly human. There was no trace of claws, silver fur, or her frightening teeth. Dracula found that it filled him with unease to see her in such an unnatural state. The form was too weak, too frail for Inmoon and he wanted to see her again, not the glamor hiding her now.

She was afraid, he could smell it on her and it pained him to know that. Inmoon was strong, unbreakable and yet so afraid of the world. The world had only repeatedly hurt and rejected her and so it made sense, but a person as strong as her had nothing to fear. She was afraid of going back to the hotel. She was afraid of the people there and worried about how they would react to her. She wanted to keep the glamor to avoid that. He would not let her hide.

He reached over and took her hands in his and looked her in the eye before speaking.

"Everything will be fine." He whispered. "You have nothing to fear from them. You have too much to be proud of Lady Inmoon. I will not have you acting as less than you are."

"And, what am I?" Her quivering voice asked him.

"A Queen." He told her as he laid a gentle hand on her face. "Remember that and remember that your friends are with you. You have nothing to fear. Not when we are here."

She smiled gently before dropping their hands back to the armrest. Dracula turned back to window with a sigh and Inmoon struck up a conversation with Isobel. Dracula looked down as the sea turned to earth and stone and took another deep breath. Soon, their fight would begin and he could only hope that he got there in time.

Their hands stayed clasped until the plane touched down in Romania.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKEMOTIONALCRAPPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

It was the day of the Winter Solstice and Mavis did her best to prepare the Hotel for her father's annual Yule celebration. It had always been Dracula's favorite time of the year, the Winter Solstice, and the party was a tradition that had never been broken. The music and dancing lasted well into the night and was unlike any of her father's other parties. Order didn't matter for that one night, only that his guests had fun. There was always some kind of pride that filled him on Yule that Mavis never saw at any other time.

It was winter in Romania and all of the fireplaces and furnaces in the hotel were well maintained, and yet she could not get the chill out of her bones. The entire hotel had gone cold and there didn't seem to be a thing she could do to fix it.

All of her uncles and aunts as well as Johnny helped as best they could with the preparations. Dracula always saw to quite a few high standing guests on this night and various members of monster nobility had already begun to arrive.

"Welcome Countess Bathory, to Hotel Transylvania." Mavis greeted their newest arrival. "We are honored to have you here with us again."

In reality, Mavis wasn't honored at all. The Countess Erzsabet was a prideful Vampiress and still held old views of class segregation close to heart. She still contained a thirst for human blood but when she was in the hotel she followed the rules set down by Dracula. She was also in a bad habit of disrespecting her father who was, in truth, the ruler of monster kind. His title demanded respect from all and Erzsabet did not give it.

In fact, almost none of the members of monster nobility held Dracula in high respect anymore. They saw him as weak and afraid. In some ways they were right but he was still their ruler. It had been so long since Vladislav Dracula had shown his power and the world had begun to forget what demons lurked beneath his fair skin.

The Countess bowed her head in return and wrinkled her nose as she caught the scent of Johnny, who stood beside her, and his friends who were filming as always. Her red eyes set onto him with a malice shining behind them.

"I see Dracula's daughter has deigned to take on a pet." She smirked cruelly at Johnathan.

"He is my betrothed Countess and you will show him the same respect as any other of my line." Mavis responded.

"Very well." Bathory sneered. "I have my usual room reserved. Send my bags there." She turned around with a dismissive wave of her pale hand.

"So, that's Erzsabet Bathory." Johnny muttered breathlessly. "I've read up on her."

"Very few monsters have a nice history Johnny." Mavis sighed. "But there are some who have yet to leave their's behind. She's one of them. Stay away from her. From this point on none of you are to go anywhere without an escort." She spoke to the camera crew behind Johnny as well. "She hasn't given up human blood."

Everyone nodded in understanding before moving to follow her as she swept through the crowd to continue greeting the nobility. There were Vampires, Werewolves, Various members of the Dead and Undead, Elementals, Warlocks and Witches along with Sorcerers and Sorceresses, and many others.

"So what makes the noble classes different from......everyone else?" Lawrence asked Mavis.

"Their Maker is what separates them. They are more powerful because their Maker is. The nobility are faster, stronger, and have more Dark Gifts than others. They earn their respect through the power they wield."

"Mavis!" A voice shouted through the crowd and she whirled around in time to be fiercely hugged by one of the new arrivals.

"Lord Ruthaven!" She yelled happily and returned the embrace.

"Just Ruthaven dear." He smiled lovingly, revealing his sharp fangs and turned his amber eyes to Johnny. "So, it is true." He muttered.

"This is Johnny." Mavis introduced.

"Your zing, yes, I've heard." He smiled as he shook Johnny's hand. "And these must be a few more friends?" He asked motioning behind the pair.

"Unexpected guests." Johnny shrugged.

The man stood roughly at Dracula's shoulder height. His skin was tan and his eyes were a startling amber. His shoulder length black hair was pulled back into a pony tail and he wore a set of opulent white and gold robes. His eyes were gentle and kind. The man reminded Johnny of Dracula himself in the way he held himself and behaved.

"Aren't you Egyptian?" The question fell from Johnny's lips before he could think about it.

"Yes I am." Ruthaven laughed. "Very observant."

"But......you're name isn't?"

"No." The Vampire Lord grew serious. "I left that life behind me a long time ago. I changed my name, and am a different person than when I bore my Egyptian name."

He turned back to Mavis.

"Where is Lord Dracula?" Ruthaven asked. "He has never failed to greet me when I arrive."

Mavis and Johnny couldn't hide their expressions and Ruthaven's face crumpled.

"What happened?" He grabbed Mavis by the shoulders. "Tell me everything."

Ruthaven looked terrified.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKLOOKPAGEBREAKMORECHARACTERSPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKYAYFREINDSPAGEBREAK**

They fed and they flew across the country toward the hotel. They could not afford to be weak in these moments. Dracula's eyes were no longer his bright blue, but red. He could not hide the fact that he had been feeding upon humans again and he readied himself for the reactions of his loved ones. They each fed three times before making their way without further delay.

Only Dracula, Inmoon, Isobel, and Lorelay needed to kill to feed. Viore was an empath and fed off of the emotions of others while Zeyphx drew his power from the earth itself. Dracula, Inmoon, and Lorelay fed on flesh while Isobel fed on a human's life force, sucking their energy from their body until they were an empty husk.

Dracula looked to the west and felt fear seep into him as he saw the sun beginning to dip below the horizon.

_"We will make it."_ Shadow's voice echoed in his head. _"I care for her as you do. We will make it."_

Dracula took a deep breath and put everything he had into the down-stroke of his wings. They only had until nightfall and then the battle would begin. They had to make it in time to clear out all of the guests and convince Mavis to leave.

_"Perhaps if I spoke?"_ Shadow suggested.

"I should think not!" Dracula growled.

_"I admit, the hunter's death was unnecessary. I lost my temper. You are well aware of the temper we both posses. You have done similar in the past."_

"I don't want to frighten them."

_"Myself and the others have come to an agreement, if needed we will speak. Whether you wish it or not. I do not apologize for this Vlad. We cannot afford mistakes and have no time to waste."_

"No, I understand." Dracula sighed. "But I cannot promise I won't fight you. My emotions will run high."

_"Very well. Now hurry! I know we can move faster!"_

Dracula did just that.

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKCUEEPICMUSICBUILDUPPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

"He just......left?" Ruthaven's fear only grew with each passing second. 

"He didn't just leave." Mavis winced.

"Yes, I'd heard rumors that he was to be hunted and captured. Rumors of insanity. But this cannot be true?!"

"It's not!" Johnny yelled. "But, things have come to light."

"Things?" Ruthaven straightened and looked ready to run.

"His past is......not what he told us." Frank said with a tight jaw.

"So you know then?" Ruthaven gasped.

"What?"

"If you know his past then you know mine."

"What do you know about the Vours?" Mavis nearly shouted.

"Vours?!" Ruthaven yelled. "What are Vours?"

"You said that you knew!"

"I thought you were talking about Egypt and the Queen's massacre! I have no idea what Vours are."

"Queen?" Mavis whispered, brows creased in confusion.

"You father has......many enemies but he has ever only been a kind man, you must remember that."

A sudden clamor from down the hall drew their attention and one of the armor suits ran into her father's office to retrieve them.

"Come with me!" It said urgently.

"What is it?" Mavis asked as they ran.

"It's your father!" He yelled as they came around the corner to see the chaos that had descended upon the hotel.

"Everyone get out!" Dracula bellowed. "Out now!"

There were five other monsters around him attempting to guide people to the doors but no one was listening. They all believed the rumor of her father's insanity and instead were attempting to restrain him. The Vampire nobility lunged toward him and in an instant one of the five threw her cloak to the ground and leaped to Dracula's defense. The room grew dead silent at the sight of a werewolf with glimmering silver fur. It was a terrifying sight to see.

"There isn't time for this!" Dracula yelled. "Everyone needs to get out of here now!"

Before anyone could get down to him, all of the monster nobility swarmed the pair and the six monsters fought valiantly against their own kind.

**"ENOUGH!"** Came a voice that bellowed, shrieked and whispered at the same time.

The room vibrated with power as members of the monster nobility were tossed aside like flies. A circle cleared wide around what used to be Dracula. His form stretched tall and a pair of wings flared menacingly behind him. He wielded a sword as tall as Johnny and a dark black flame engulfed his entire frame. His eyes were enveloped by black as he stared down everyone.

**"Release the pillars."** His accent was gone and instead replaced by a voice of absolute power.

"Who are you?" Bathory demanded, though she quaked with fear.

Dracula's face stretched into a menacing grin of daggers.

**"Only you, Erzsabet, would be so insolent."** He leaned down into her face. **"I am Shadow and you are beneath me."**

"By the gods." Ruthaven whispered. "Erzsabet, don't be a fool."

"Do you know what that is?" Murray asked.

"We've met before." Ruthaven replied darkly.

Erzsabet's jaw dropped in shock and slowly the circle grew wider around Dracula.

"I am beneath no one." She said shakily.

Dracula's cheeks split open as his teeth grew longer. His face split apart in a grotesque grin as his own flesh tore apart and blood spilled down.

"No my Lord!" Ruthaven screamed as he leaped over the crowd, but he was too late.

There was a loud snap as Dracula's jaw unhinged and hung down to rest on his chest. He shrieked in rage and in one swift movement Erzsabet's face was trapped between his jaws. She screamed in agony and flailed helplessly as he held her there. Manic laughter echoed through the lobby and heads turned to see a dark skinned man, with a long mangled beard and a robe of shifting earth and clay, in hysterics over the display.

"My Lord Shadow, I beg of you.....spare her." Ruthaven fell to the ground and pressed his forehead to the floor in a bow. "Think of Dracula." He lifted his head to look at him.

_**"I am."**_ The soundless voice echoed through the room and Erzsabet screamed again as she realized her fate.

Suddenly Dracula jerked back and Erzsabet crumpled to the ground, her face an unrecognizable heap of flesh. The Vampire King screamed and thrashed as his eyes flickered from red to black. Those massive wings flared and convulsed with the rest of his body as Ruthaven looked over Erzsabet. He tore cloth from his robes to bind her face and it wasn't long before they were soaked through.

"You will not!" Dracula screamed as he held his head.

**"I will do what needs doing!"** He straightened as his eyes were consumed by darkness and the black flame returned. **"Order will be maintained!"** He bellowed. **"Does anyone _else_ question the authority of my Vessel?!"**

The room fell silent and the other five members of Dracula's group stepped closer as they each overtook a similar transformation. Viore extended a pair of great wings of white and blue fire, the rest of his form was enveloped in flames of every color that burned nothing. He wielded a katana that, with a flick of his wrist fell apart into a bladed whip.

Isobel's flesh melted away to reveal a sharp toothed skeleton. A huge black robe fell around her as she hovered above the floor, the sleeves covered her bone hands and the hood dipped to shroud her face. The wind itself shrieked as it spun about her in a whirlwind. A massive double bladed scythe formed in her hand, slowly gaining color as the air molded it.

Inmoon's hackles raised into a spiked ridge down her back, and a great purple mist seeped off her form as her eyes burned bright. She pulled her war hammer from her back and slammed it forcefully into the ground.

Lorelay dropped her robe and bared her form before the crowd. The fins on her back flared into a set of spikes running along her spine, linked by the shimmering membrane between them. They met at the base of her skull and rose to form a high collar. Her eyes glowed blue and various markings along her body followed in suit. Her fingernails grew to talons and her teeth became daggers as her jaw grew into a short snout.

Zeyphx's only change was that his robe became alive. Tendrils of earth and dust stretched out from the base and writhed. His eyes glowed a wild green.

**"Does anyone question the authority of our Vessels?!"**

The power in the voice brought everyone to their knees. Shadow moved to stand over Erzsabet. He reached down with long elegant fingers, the black in his talons invading the flesh, and tore the bindings from her face. The Countess screamed in fear and she was backhanded into silence.

**"I will offer you mercy today because my Vessel demands it."** He snarled. **"If mercy is what you can call it."** He laughed wickedly. **"Your wounds will not fully heal. You will never be fair again."**

He stood tall and menacing before everyone and glared over the crowd.

**"NOW LEAVE!"** He thundered and no one dared disobey.

The crowd ran for the door and the six beings standing frozen returned control back to their Vessels. Dracula met his daughters eyes and was repulsed by the horror he saw there. He breathed deep and rooted himself in the moment.

He was knocked off his feet as the whole hotel shook violently and black smoke shrouded the windows and doors and solidified into an impenetrable wall. Only half of the Hotel's guests made it out and the other half became trapped inside as the building itself trembled as darkness fell on Transylvania.

"No!" Dracula shouted and spread his wings.

He flew into the black wall and beat his blade upon it as he bellowed with rage.

"No! I won't let you! You won't take her from me!"

Inmoon ran up the stairs to Mavis and shook her from her shock.

"Mavis, get it together. You're in for a hell of a fight."

"What is going on?!" Wayne snarled and stepped between Inmoon and Mavis.

"The Gate has shattered and the Vours are loose. they've trapped us in here. They hold a grudge against your father. Tonight, the Vours hunt you Mavis. They will take your body and trap you in your own fearscape."

As the realization hit her everything faded aside from Johnny's arms wrapped around her and her father's enraged screaming as he pounded fruitlessly at the blocked door.

Dracula could feel his bones freezing with every passing second as the shrieking in his head grew louder and louder.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Formatting was a bitch. The writing program I had did not want to cooperate and just lumped everything into one big paragraph that made my brain go "AAH!" Hope you enjoyed it though.


	16. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Dracula makes a terrible mistake.

Dracula shrieked in rage and whirled back toward Mavis. He landed behind her in a crouch and flared his wings as a feral snarl made its way past his lips. A sudden fear struck Mavis and Johnny. They turned to see Dracula facing off against an army of the most terrifying creatures they had ever seen.

Their bodies were nothing more than clouds of dark ink, swirling as if trapped in the confines of water. Their teeth resembled Dracula's fearsome fangs but were longer and thicker. Each single tooth had runes and designs naturally set into it. Their bright red eyes held a set of black hourglass pupils. They were the Vours and they were there to retake what was once theirs and torture the ones who ended their reign.

“Get everyone to the shelter!” Dracula roared. “Don't let them anywhere near Mavis! If something happens to her I will petrify you myself!”

“Yes sir.” Isobel nodded and swooped down to stand next to Mavis.

There was a great roar as a wall of white flame leaped from the floor in front of Dracula and stretched to the ceiling.

“Don' be an idiot Vlad!” Viore shouted. “Lead the way, I'll cover ya!”

Dracula nodded and ran to catch up with Inmoon, Isobel, and Mavis. His gaze linked with Isobel's and she flew off to assist in the containment of the Vours.

“Everyone follow me!” Dracula shouted to the remainder of the monsters who had been trapped inside.

The crowd did not hesitate to do as he said in the face of the Vours. He took up the head of the group and did his best to shield everyone with tendrils of shadow as he flew over head. Inmoon fought below him, casting protection spells and dispersing the Vours for a few moments. They would only reform in a few minutes but it at least cleared a path for them.

The first fatality hit the group hard. A swarm of Vours descended upon them and in a spray of blood a young Satyr was torn to pieces. Even Dracula's speed could not help and he roared in anger and sent a massive wave of solid shadow hurtling down the hallway to push the Vours back.

Inmoon maintained physical contact with Mavis at all times as she barked orders at Frank, Wayne, Murray, and Griffin. She formed a protective circle around Johnny and his friends in order to shield them from the reach of the Vours. The monsters on the edge of the group suffered greatly and Mavis let out a scream as she saw a swarm overtake her father and tear a wing from his back. Dracula screamed in agony and dropped like a rock to the floor. The Vours caught him and sent him hurdling through a stone wall. 

The gap in the stone was enveloped by the same white flame that trailed behind them as Viore stretched his arm out.

“What are you doing?!” She yelled. “My father's still over there!”

“Little lady, yer father c'n take care o himself!” Viore shouted. “Our orders are ta protect ya and everyone here at all costs! Little fire ain't gonna hurt 'im!”

Just as the words left the man's mouth Dracula came hurdling back through the flames. He whipped around in a spray of blood and weaved shadow into Viore's flames to strengthen the wall.

“Mavis!”He called as he turned around and Mavis covered her mouth in horror.

Half of her father's face was missing. There were deep claw marks set into the bone that were slowly knitting back together. His ruptured eye resealed itself and gained vision again. His flesh knitted itself together in long strings that snapped out to join with one another. She watched as the wing on his back regrew, bone first, and flesh spider webbed out to cover it.

“Mavis!” He called again as he swooped through the crowd. “Take Sirith!” He yelled over the chaos as he handed her his sword. “She will protect you!”

Even as she held the massive blade the weight meant nothing in her hands. When she looked up again her father was charging back into a swarm with a ferocious war cry.

All around the group came explosions of fire, water, ice, lightning, earth, metal, and pure shadow as the Pillars struggled to hold the Vours at bay. Johnny heard a scream from behind and turned to see Viore dragging Lorelay a safe distance away as she clutched tightly at her split belly. Viore grabbed her intestines in a sloppy handful and shoved them back into her body. In a few seconds she was healed and had returned to the fray.

Jonathan's friends were absolutely terrified as they ran in the center of the crowd. Gemma did her best to keep narrating the situation but her fear was too great. A Vour broke through and Mavis found herself swinging Sirith before her mind even registered what she was doing. The creature shrieked as the runes of the blade glowed red hot and the Vour dissipated in an instant.

Dracula swooped over the group with an arm that dangled limply at his side. He landed before a stone wall and snapped the shoulder back into place with a wince. He pulled out a stone and shoved his hand into the hole. He bit into his lip before withdrawing his hand and cradling his split wrist to his chest. The wall cracked in half beside them and withdrew to reveal another hidden room. He turned his scarlet eyes back to Mavis as she assisted everyone inside.

“Get inside!” He yelled at her. 

There were runes, like the ones on the wall in his lab, decorating the threshold and interior of the room. It was a room specifically designed to keep Vours out.

“Mavis, come on!” Johnny yelled as he ushered his friends through.

She turned her head to her right and saw a flash of inky black and long teeth. She screamed in terror as the Vour closed in.

The impact nearly jarred her teeth from her skull. She hit the floor hard and gasped for breath. She expected to be torn apart but instead she looked up to see her father's pained face as he wrapped his wings around her protectively. Behind them, Isobel and Inmoon sealed the door and the horrid shrieking of the Vours became muffled.

“How many did we lose?” Lorelay asked as she helped Dracula up.

“I don't know.” He gasped. “Mavis?” He kneeled down. “Are you alright?”

She nodded as she gasped for breath. She welcomed Johnny's bone crushing hug as he wrapped his arms around her and whispered how much he loved her.

Dracula stood and examined the door with scrutinizing eyes.

“Are we certain they took no one?” He asked.

“Absolutely.” Inmoon answered. “They've only been feeding off flesh. They are not yet strong enough to overtake another's will. They can only enter another if they are allowed.”

Dracula nodded somberly.

“Drac! Can we get an explanation now?” Frank glared into Dracula's cold scarlet eyes.

“Those things are the Vours.” He sighed as he dropped his shoulders. “They live in another realm, dimension if you will. Every year on Sorry Night, the Winter Solstice, our two worlds overlap and it allows them to cross over.” He turned his back to Frank. “Their world is one of only cold and darkness. They crave the warmth and life that we here possess. But they are not satisfied in that alone. They love to kill and they will never stop doing it. They are as cold and cruel as their realm. They take over a person's body and trap them in something we call a fearscape. It's basically a land filled with your own worst fears. They feed off of that fear while living the person's life.”

“And you've fought them before?”

“Yes.”

“While you were human?”

“Yes, and it killed us. The elements bound themselves to us and through their power we were transformed.”

“The gate is only open tonight?”

“No.” Dracula moaned. “That is why we had to fight them. They changed the rules. It used to be that they could only come through on Sorry Night. Not anymore. Once the way is open it stays open and so we created the gate to seal them in their own realm and contain their bloodlust.”

“So what do we do now?”

“I don't know!” Dracula roared. “I don't know.” His voice fell to a whisper. “Just let me think.”

Before anyone had time to react Zeyphx leaped upon Dracula with a wild scream. He snapped both of the Vampire's wings and severed his tail before leaping onto his chest like an animal and grabbing his throat. Dracula screamed as Zeyphx forced him to the ground and he landed on his, now shattered, wings. Two stalactites flew from his palms and embedded themselves in Dracula's wrists. He howled in pain and Inmoon tackled Zeyphx to the ground.

“We need ye lucid Zeyphx!” Isobel shouted as Inmoon wrestled with the struggling Warlock.

“We are!” He yelled. “Do not release it!” He bellowed as Viore pulled the stalactites out of Dracula's wrists.

“Zeyphx damn it!” Dracula roared. “You cannot do this! Not now!”

“We are lucid. Do not listen to it!”

Inmoon held onto Zeyphx as he made to lung forward again but her look was unsure now.

“Isobel! Get him back here with us.” Dracula ordered. “Ground him!”

The Banshee hesitated as well.

“Ground him before his fit gets out of control!”

Lorelay slapped and icy hand on Dracula's face from behind and he shrieked in pain as the ice froze his flesh. The whole room went silent as he fell to the floor clutching his face.

“Well fuck.” He laughed and his accent faded. 

He dropped his hand to reveal swollen, blackened flesh and he grinned a cruel grin as he stood and called Sirith to his hand. He stared at Mavis with eyes that were not his own and a voice like pure ice.

“We will torture you endlessly tonight little Vampiress. We will violate you in every sense of the word and when I've had my fun,” A terrifying grin overtook his face. “I'll let him go so he can see the work his hands have wrought. Then I'll take him again.” He laughed.

Inmoon screamed ferociously as she leaped forward only to be impaled upon Sirith even as the sword grew red hot and burned Dracula's hands. The pain didn't even seem to register as smoke rose and instead the Vour within moaned in pleasure. He lifted a foot and kicked her from the sword. He turned to face the other Pillars and grinned before extending a long forked tongue and licking the blood from the blade.

Viore gave a roar that transformed into the proud scream of an eagle as he leaped forward and allowed his wings to give him extra speed. Dracula nimbly dodged Viore's attack and snapped one of his wings back into place as his tail began to grow back. He drew back his head and spit a long stream of venom that struck Lorelay in the eyes and she fell to the ground blinded.

He decapitated Isobel in the single swing and her body crumpled to the ground before dissolving to dust. He turned back around and in a matter of seconds Viore fell to Dracula's blade as well and his body burnt to ash.

**“Face us.”** Zeyphx's voice boomed.

Dracula laughed.

**“Do not underestimate our power for you dwell in our domain now.”** Zeyphx grinned as he smashed his heel into the ground and a pillar of rock shot up and hit Dracula in the chest with a loud crack. **”You may have the vessel's body but you do not wield the power of his element.”**

Dracula coughed blood as he stood and faced down Zeyphx. The warlock's robe had come alive and he rose upon the writhing mass of dirt, clay, and metal. Zeyphx threw out a foot, stomped hard and lifted his hands. With his movements the section of earth Dracula stood on separated in a large square and slammed him into the ceiling. A tornado formed and snatched up the dust that Isobel had become. Within the writhing mass of air her body reformed and the cloak fell to cover her naked form. The double bladed scythe formed in her hands again and her jaw dropped in a painful wail as she lunged toward Dracula.

The possessed Vampire was released as the section of earth was retracted. He hit the ground in a daze and barely managed to dodge Isobel's swing. She let out another ghostly shriek as she swung the scythe over her head launching a wind strike forward from the blade. It struck Dracula in the chest with all the force of her weapon itself. He flew back and blood spattered upon the ceiling as his chest split open.

All eyes turned to the pile of ash where Viore fell as the proud scream of an eagle sounded. A great bird, twice the size of an eagle, wreathed in every type of flame with talons of lightning rose from the ashes and launched itself at Dracula. It sunk its talons into his shoulders and Dracula screamed as lightning surged through his body. The Phoenix tore at his face with it's beak as he lifted Dracula into the air and tossed him into the wall.

Inmoon leaped upon the weakened form of the Vampire Lord and drove his head into the wall with a sickening crunch. Zeyphx rose a hand and the stone on the wall crackled as it bound Dracula's limbs to the wall. The Undead King cackled as blood poured passed his lips and he spat in Inmoon's face.

“He loves his precious little girl so much.” The Vour laughed. “That he would even take in one of us to stop her from being hurt.”

“Release 'im.” The Phoenix said from his perch on Isobel's scythe.

“Tell me, Great Eye.” Dracula hissed with a sneer. “Can you see the doom that draws close?”

“We see your doom before our very eyes,  **just as we see you cower before us now.** We see the doom of everyone here.  **We see** _**all** _ **.”** Zeyphx responded and his voice swapped between his and Earth's.

Dracula roared in rage and cursed in an ancient tongue. His hand broke through and grabbed Inmoon's throat. His talons dug into her flesh cruelly and Isobel raised her scythe to sever the limb.

Mavis could take the sight no longer and threw herself forward. Her hands wrapped around her father's bare wrist. There was only a second of eye contact between her and the Vour that had taken her father before she crumpled to the ground, holding his hand and Dracula went limp. 

Everyone stared in shock and awe at the young Vampiress as her mind tumbled through darkness and into Dracula's fearscape.

 


	17. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fearscape: Level 1

Mavis tumbled through a void of pitch black and landed face first on a plain of hot burning sand. She groaned in pain as the world spun around her in a swirling mass of gold and sunlight. She instinctively shielded herself but found that the light did not burn her. The spinning slowly ceased and the world solidified around the young Vampiress. She found herself in the midst of a vast desert. She spun around slowly and found an endless expanse of burning hot sand in every direction.

“Where am I?” She asked, confused.

She had been in the Hotel and her father had been possessed by a Vour. The last thing she remembered was running forward to grab his hand before the ground crumbled beneath her feet. She clutched the sides of her head as she tried desperately to remember how she could have gotten here and why the sunlight wasn't burning her.

“You really are your father's daughter.” Inmoon's thickly accented voice sounded behind her.

Mavis whirled around and found herself faced with blurry, swirling hues of silver and purple. She watched the mass solidify before her and give shape to the massive form of a silver wolf. The eyes were her own bright purple but she towered over Mavis' head, as tall as Dracula on all fours. She had seven tails and massive claws. Her snout was skeletal and revealed a jaw full of thick long teeth. Runes and writing glowed purple all along her massive form and were like no language Mavis had ever seen. They were something akin to intricate circles, looping together and overlapping. Some almost looked like the cogs of a clock and others looked like elegant swirls and everything meshed together to form a single complicated rune. Inmoon's form had one rune placed on her forehead between the eyes, more running up and down all four legs, one in the center of her chest, a line of them starting between her ears and running to the base of her tails, and one rune on the end of each of her seven tails.

“Inmoon?” Mavis asked in a shaky voice.

“Yes. Sorry if my form is frightening to you but it is my strongest and most fearsome. It is needed to traverse the fearscape.”

“Fearscape?”

“You have entered your father's fearscape Mavis. Somewhere in here your father is trapped. The Vour has constructed a world of his worst fears and we must fight our way through to find him and bring him out. There will be one token for every level of the fearscape. We must find these tokens. They are pieces of your father's psyche. Though it has only been a few minutes in reality, he has been trapped here many years. His mind is fragmenting and he leaves a piece of himself on each level as he goes deeper and deeper. You must be prepared for the horror you are to face here. You must keep your head and continue no matter what you see.”

Mavis nodded before responding. “Have you been here before?”

“Yes.” Inmoon nodded. “But it has been countless years since I have seen Vlad's fearscape. Much has happened since then. I do not know what we may face in here.”

Mavis nodded again before turning around and looking closely at everything around her. There must be some clue that she hadn't seen yet. There must be something to lead her through. She squinted against the near blinding light of the desert sun and saw a vague shape in the distance. She set off toward it and Inmoon followed.

Mavis quickly discovered that the normal rules did not apply here. She glanced away from the shape on the horizon and it was replaced by a large sand dune. She climbed the sand dune and in the valley beneath the once small shape was revealed in full detail. She gasped and gagged at the smell that permeated the valley beneath her.

A great serpent lay in the sand in a massive red pool of putrid blood. It was split from chin to tail and its guts decorated the lands before Mavis. It's thick ribs were splayed out in a mockery of a bird's spread wings. Someone or something had spread the serpent's organs and intestine in front of it's splayed belly. It's mouth was open in an agonized scream and it's once gentle teal eyes were soulless and dead. There were two fins on either side of its jaw and a long dorsal fin running down its back, akin to Lorelay's own beautiful fins. Its tail ended in a large rudder fin and atop its head was a massive crest.

It was a creature born of water, what was its corpse doing in the desert?

Inmoon visibly winced by her side and Mavis gagged again at the smell of the creature's rotting flesh.

“We should keep moving.” Inmoon deadpanned.

“What is it?” Mavis asked as she stood and gazed upon the ruined form of the once great serpent.

The only answer she received was silence.

She steadied herself and made her way into the carnage below. She shuddered at the first squelch of coagulated blood beneath her feet. The stench of decay was all around her and her head spun with it. She could feel meat squishing beneath her shoes as she walked and that loud squelch sounded with every step they took. There were so many flies that Mavis could barely see through the swarm. The buzzing became all she could hear as she swatted them away from her eyes, nose, and mouth when they tried to crawl in.

She yelped in pain as they began to bite her where they landed. She heard Inmoon behind her in a similar struggle. A great roar struck her back and knocked her into the blood and gore beneath her as the cloud of flies parted. She vomited as her hand landed in a pile of mutilated flesh. Inmoon's teeth came down on her collar and lifted her from the mess upon the ground. She stood on shaky legs and followed Inmoon as she moved on.

There was a set of bloody footprints in the sand that lead away from the grisly scene and the pair followed them into the vastness of the desert again. The heat of the sun felt just as real as it would have outside the fearscape, and Mavis found herself wiping the sweat from her brow and battling her thirst. The air before them wiggled and waved in a desert mirage and the closer they crept the more a scene began to emerge.

Out of the writhing air came a cliff, gazing down upon an ancient Egyptian city. As Mavis drew closer she saw a single woman standing upon the cliff with her back to them and gazing out upon the valley below. Mavis could see the Nile river running red with blood and all around the base of the cliff were corpses. The landscape beneath them was spattered with red and the figure looked upon it all with great pride.

She was the most beautiful woman that Mavis had ever seen. Her skin was a soft golden brown and flawless. Her shimmering black hair reached down to her mid-back and swayed lazily in the breeze. In the distance was a city and at its center stood a huge pyramid. Atop the pyramid crouched a white wolf, great and terrible to behold. It lifted its head and sent forth a blood curdling howl that drew all manner of beasts to it. A swarm of crows ascended from the city and circled above the massive wolf.

Inmoon came to a dead halt beside Mavis and the Vampiress turned to see the Werewolf's hackles raise into fierce silver spikes on her back. A shudder ran through Mavis at the thought of what those spikes could do in battle. She turned back around to face the woman upon the cliff. The picture before Mavis was as serene as it was horrifying. She found herself drawn to the woman before her and without thinking took a step forward. Mavis was granted a perfect view of her form as the mysterious woman stood sideways on the cliff, her head turned to survey the lands below.

She was dressed in a beautiful white gown that stopped at her ankles. There was a red sash tied loosely at her waist, wrapping around twice before the loose ends trailed down her belly, ending mid-thigh. A pair of wings stretched out from her back and the feathers shone brilliantly in the sunlight. From her wings seeped streams of jet black smoke that swirled and danced around her form before dissipating. Her chest held a magnificent golden crest with a ruby scarab in the center. Upon her head sat a crown that wrapped around her forehead and descended past her ears in three connecting plates. At the very top of her head the crown moved smoothly into a curving vase. She was a glorious sight.

The moment Mavis moved toward her the woman's eyes flashed a deep crimson and her gaze landed upon the approaching form of the Vampiress.

“This is not the end of us.” She hissed as she turned toward Mavis. “I will have my reign.”

It was not a woman that turned to face Mavis but a Vampire as well. She spread her wings and rose upon the cloud of blackness they created. Her lips melted away and jaw dropped to show a wide mouth full of wicked teeth. Her fingers lengthened and sharpened into talons. It was impossible to tell where flesh ended and claw began.

“You cannot escape this dearest!” She shrieked. “You will never be free of us!”

Mavis let out a startled yell before turning tail and running. She followed the cliff side with Inmoon as the woman's screaming followed them on the wind. A shadow rose above them and suddenly Inmoon was gone. She looked to the sky and saw the woman clutching Inmoon by the throat. Inmoon wrapped her paws around her neck and pulled her forward. Inmoon's bony snout closed on the woman's face and she howled in pain as she released the wolf. Inmoon landed nimbly on her feet and blood dappled the fur on her neck.

Mavis shuddered as she heard the great white beast howl upon the pyramid again and she urged her feet to move faster. Ahead she saw a fallen tower that acted as a perfect bridge into the valley below and across the blood filled Nile River. She ran across the pillar and through the vast field of dead bodies. Even as she ran, the corpses began to move. They writhed upon the ground and gurgled words drowned in crimson bubbles. They screamed and moaned and asked why she had let this happen. They called her a fool, they called her blind. They cursed her very existence and damned her to a life of torment for the death she had wrought.

Mavis cried out in fear as one of the bodies grabbed her ankle and she tumbled down into the flood of corpses.

“Why?” They gurgled. “Why did you not die with us?”

Mavis gave an angry yell and shoved the bodies off of her. She screamed again as a searing pain ripped through her shin and she turned to see a baby biting deep into her leg. It's dead little eyes bore into her soul and she felt a great agony like none before rise up in her being. She wailed to the darkening sky as the babe snarled and dug its mangled little fangs into her flesh again. It hissed and revealed a mouth, black and swollen with decay.

 **“** **Mavis!”** Spirit's voice echoed. **“Gather yourself! You are connecting with your father! Your mind will not take it! Sever the bond! NOW!!!!!”**

Mavis shook her head and kicked the child away and watched it right itself instantly and lunge forward again. She rose as quickly as she could and limped toward the city. She pushed away all emotions as they rose to the surface and focused solely on reaching the city before her.

She heard the deafening screech of the strange woman behind her mingled with Inmoon's ferocious roars. She limped past the massive gates of smooth alabaster stone and continued through the streets, littered still with the taunting corpses. She came to a sudden stop and fell to the ground as the massive form of the white wolf landed before her. It stood upon two legs and was taller than her father. It opened its great maw and a roar tore its way from the beast's throat. It wore no clothing and stared at Mavis with bloodthirsty golden eyes.

Mavis leaped to her feet and ran. She knew in her heart that she could not face this enemy. The beast followed close behind and was slowly gaining on her. She turned her head to see it closing in and she did the only thing she could think of. She grabbed a rock from the rubble, turned, and smashed in the beast's skull. She winced as she felt the crunch of bone beneath her hands and a warm splatter hit her cheeks. She looked down and already saw the wolf's flesh knitting together. She dropped the stone and ran.

She met again with Inmoon who was covered in dust and gore. The two ran side by side toward the great pyramid at the city's center. The moment they crossed the threshold the groaning from the corpses, the roaring of the beast, and the screaming of the woman stopped and all became deathly silent.

Mavis took a moment to regain her breath before looking around the ruins she stood in. The paintings upon the wall were cracked and faded. They depicted a man in opulent Egyptian garb with a golden falcon's head that covered most of his face. The eyes were holes that allowed the man beneath to see and the falcon's beak dipped down to cover his nose. Golden feathers trailed down and framed his jaw and cheeks. She saw a painting of this man standing atop the ruined pyramid, wings spread wide and a long bone tail writhing behind him. His arms lifted toward the sky and parted the black clouds above him to make way for the sun. From the positioning of it and the design of his headdress it almost looked like he was wearing the sun on his crown.

She knew those wings, and she knew that tail. She gasped as she realized that the man in the paintings was her father. He looked so regal but so much colder than what she knew of him. He looked like a vengeful god as apposed to the loving father she had known all her life. She saw crumbled pictures of ancient battles passed that showed her gentle, caring father amidst a field of slain enemies and his bare chest covered in gore as he stood proudly amongst his victory.

In her heart, Mavis began to understand why he kept such secrets.

She looked around the desecrated temple that lay within the pyramid and found two thrones waiting on the opposite side of the room. She felt drawn to them and made her way over. She walked passed Inmoon who stood staring at everything around her and looked lost somehow and overcome by grief.

Mavis took a deep breath and stepped over the rubble to stand beneath the two thrones. Both were once glorious creations but had now fallen into ruin. The one on the right stood tall. The stone was worn, the paint faded, and the metal tarnished. Upon the top of the throne she saw the Falcon headed crown but there was a new addition to it. A large disc made of a shining crystal like nothing Mavis had ever seen before was attached to the top with two hooded cobra's on either side fixing it to the rest of the headdress. She swallowed hard at the sight and turned her gaze to the crumbled throne on the left.

It was broken to pieces and only the seat itself remained. A gleam caught Mavis' eye and she looked closer. Resting in the seat of the destroyed throne was her father's wedding ring. She gasped and reached a shaking hand out. She hesitated for but a moment before snatching it from the seat and pocketing the precious item.

The moment the ring touched her hand six roars sounded from outside that shook the very foundations of the temple. She shouted at Inmoon and the two ran back outside and into the city streets. She could feel the presence of the white beast behind them and hear the horrid screaming of the woman. All around the two of them rose shadows of great creatures of myth and legend. Voices, deep and powerful arose on the wind and boomed curses. They swore vengeance, they swore destruction, they swore death. Mavis heard Inmoon's voice rise in an anguished scream that told of such pain that Mavis nearly fell to the ground hearing it.

Ahead of the pair loomed the form of the Sphinx of Giza. Mavis knew somehow that was where they needed to go and ran for all she was worth. She blocked out Inmoon's voice as the wolf screamed again. The chest of the stone Spinx was split open to reveal a long hallway, illuminated by the torches that ran along it. Mavis ran down the hallway and the creatures were left outside to wail their torments to the empty lands in which they now dwelled.

The hallway let out into a circular room at the center of the Sphinx. Mavis stood in the center and looked around but could find no door other than the one she entered through. Inmoon leaped through the door and landed in the center next to Mavis. She breathed deep and exhaled in a quick snort. Her head moved from side to side as she scanned the chamber.

The room shook and suddenly the floor was moving beneath them. It descended and carried the pair down into the depths of the hidden chamber. As darkness took Mavis' sight from her she could barely hear a faint tune ringing through the air. The farther the stone elevator dropped, the louder the music became. She nibbled her bottom lip in anxiety and nearly hit the floor when the whole thing came to a grinding halt.

There was a loud ding and a set of elevator doors slid open and Mavis gaped in horror at the bloodstained hallways of Hotel Transylvania.

“We have reached the second level.” Inmoon said breathlessly. “Things will get more challenging now.”

Mavis took a deep breath before stepping over the threshold and into the second level of her father's fearscape.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason this chapter was the Queen of all bitches to post.


	18. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fearscape: Level 2

The deep breath did little to stabilize Mavis' mind as the strip of carpet squished beneath her feet and seeped blood onto the stone. The place reeked of decay and death. The very warmth of her blood seemed stolen away in the sheer silence that surrounded the pair. Mavis shivered at the thought of what awaited her within this place, this mockery of her home and her father's sanctuary. The images depicted on the walls of the temple flashed behind her eyes and she winced at the idea of her father rejoicing upon a field of slain foes. Her father was kind and nurturing but she was discovering the forgotten darkness that lurked within him.

The pain in her leg had faded to a mere ghost of what it had been before and she was no longer hindered by a limp. She took another look around her and felt tears prick her eyes at the sight. The carpet beneath her feet lay in tatters, the photos and decorations lay about the hallway crumpled, torn, and shattered, and deep claw marks bore into the stone. Splatters of deep scarlet adorned the smooth grey stone in smeared streaks and the tang of blood filled the air with them.

She braved another step and prepared herself for the battle she now faced within the warped prison the Vour had created to house Dracula. A sense of determination struck her in those moments and she felt strength and courage surge through her. Fear faded to the back of her mind and her footfalls were no longer hesitant. She stood tall and ready for the next inevitable attack with hardened eyes that gave no hint at mercy. Within her veins lurked the blood of both demons and angels, for she was a Dracula and Inmoon could see her bloodline taking hold. Pride surged through the silver she-wolf at the grand sight of Mavis, unwavering against such horror, and she silently congratulated Dracula for his daughter's actions that night.

“The Courage of your father has found you at last little one.” She said with a sad smile. “We had hoped it never would have to, but I am proud.”

Mavis looked to Inmoon with a questioning gaze.

“You look so much like him. Standing proud and regal amidst the terrors we have strived to keep secret from the world. It was only ever him who had the courage to do what was needed. There is a difference between strength and courage Mavis. Strength is continuing the fight even though it is hard, courage is doing so even when your own strength has failed you. Vlad is the most courageous person I have ever known. It is good to see he passed that on to you.”

“Thank you, but save your words for when this is over. I may yet disappoint you.” Mavis responded as she turned and continued her way down the hall.

“Your father's daughter.” Inmoon chuckled quietly before catching up to the vampiress in two strides of her powerful legs.

A chorus of shrieks sounded above them and a swarm of bats descended from the shadows that hid them. Inmoon snarled as they bit into her and shook her massive head from side to side. Mavis lifted her arms and swatted them away but just as suddenly as they appeared the bats had vanished down the hall. Mavis felt the ground shake beneath her in a steady rhythm as something heavy rounded the corner behind them. A wheezing groan echoed through the hallway and Mavis turned to face whatever thing the Vour had concocted to torture her father. As she drank in the sight she did not allow the fear to take her, or the shock and she simply readied herself to fight.

Rounding the corner was her uncle Frank, but the creature before her could no longer be called that. He was bigger within the Fearscape and his limbs hung disproportionate from his body. One shoulder began in a massive bulge and descended into a much too small arm. His fingers were mismatched and the other arm was far too long for his body and the hand too small. His legs were put together in much the same manner of inordinate patchwork as the rest of him. His eyes were milky and yellowing with decay while a foul black substance leaked from his mouth and trickled down his chin in thick strands. His stitches tore at the surrounding grey and black flesh, puss and old blood seeping through them. Chunks of his flesh had tumbled away and his clothes hung from his mangled frame in tatters.

“You!” He roared and his voice was a wretched bellow formed in the back of a torn throat. His lips refused to work for him and only served to distort his words. “Monster! I'll kill you!” He thundered before running toward them with an enraged scream.

Mavis pushed away her terror once more and leaped over Frank as he charged.

 _“_ _Not Frank.”_ She thought to herself. _“_ _That thing is not Frank.”_

Inmoon barreled into the creature's chest and knocked them both to the ground with an echoing thud as they collided with enough force to shatter bones.

“You deserve to die!” Fearscape Frank yelled as he grappled with Inmoon. “Horrible, evil, _monster_!”

Mavis snarled and ran forward. She smashed her foot into his head with all the strength she could muster and nearly screamed as his skull gave way beneath her foot and her boot plunged into his brain. She yanked and tugged but she was caught and worse, the creature still moved. He let loose a roar that rattled Mavis' bones as the vibrations traveled up her leg. He began to climb to his feet and Mavis hung by her foot from his head as she tried to break free. She cursed loudly as she tugged and let out a cry of pain as a large hand wrapped around her and wrenched her loose.

“You want to protect us?!” He roared in her face, thick black gunk splattered on her cheeks. “Then die and free us from you!”

He pulled his arm back to throw her but Inmoon's skeletal jaw clamped down above his elbow and tore the limb from his body. The hand clenched tighter around Mavis and she wrestled to free herself as Inmoon clashed again with Frank. She gave a yell of her own as she tore fingers off of the hand that trapped her and stood to her full height again.

“This way Inmoon!” She yelled and ran down the hall away from Frank.

She heard the soft rhythm of Inmoon's paws as the she-wolf ran to catch up to her. She did not slow down and the fearscape Frank fell behind. This version of her uncle was nothing more than a lumbering beast and speed was an impossible feat. Its roars ricocheted off of the walls and struck Mavis to her core. She pushed away the fear and kept running. Her one focus was reaching her father and only once she had done that would she begin to open her heart again.

“Where do we go?” Mavis asked Inmoon as they slowed. “The hallways don't make any sense in here.”

“We find something that does make sense.” Inmoon responded. “This is still your father's mind. There will be something for us to follow.”

Inmoon shook her head and the two paused in thought as the hallway branched off into two paths. She took a deep breath before trotting down the left hall. Mavis followed behind her and everything fell silent. They walked over the wrecked decorations and torn, blood-soaked carpets without paying heed to the gutted remains of the once sanctuary.

“Are we going the right way?” Mavis asked.

“Yes.” Inmoon answered gruffly.

“How do you know?”

“I can sense it.”

"Wait, wait, wait.” Mavis spluttered as she jumped in front of Inmoon. “We're traipsing through here on a whim?”

“Of course not.” Inmoon growled. “That would be foolish.”

“Then how do you know this is the right way?” Mavis flinched under the intense glare of the magnificent silver wolf.

“I told you, I can sense it.”

“How?”

Inmoon's form seemed to deflate as she realized that she was not being insulted.

“The fearscape is within the mind Mavis.” She sighed. “I can sense that he has been this way. I sense the fading signature of his mind. The feeling grows stronger as we go farther. That is how I know. It is a sense gained from many journeys through the fearscapes of my closest friends.”

“How many times have you done this?” Mavis muttered, eyes wide.

“I have lost count.” Inmoon said quietly as she pushed past Mavis. “I have personally seen the fearscapes of my entire family.”

“The Pillars?”

Inmoon stumbled to a halt.

“How do you know that title?” She snarled.

Mavis took a surprised step back as the monstrous silver she-wolf rounded on her in a flash. Her eyes flared brightly and a feral snarl ripped it's way from her skeletal maw. Mavis' vision was filled with nothing but those teeth, as long as her forearm as Inmoon's growl rumbled in her chest.

“How?!”

“M-my father's journal, and a letter from my mother!” Mavis blurted.

“Your father did WHAT!?” Inmoon roared and snapped her jaw loudly.

Mavis cowered away from the enraged she-wolf as a burst of power flowed from her.

“He led me to his journal.” Mavis whimpered as Inmoon's hackles raised.

“We took an oath Vlad!” She bellowed to the empty hallway. “Tell no one! It was _your_ oath!”

“This needed explaining.” Mavis said as she stood again.

“This!” Inmoon snarled, drool falling from her teeth. “Was to remain a secret for all time!”

“We had a right to know!” Mavis shouted as she found her courage.

“Your _rights_ do not matter! He should not have broken the oath! He should not have told you! This secret is too dangerous!” She clawed the ground in rage, leaving wide gashes in the stone with her claws.

“He didn't tell me.” Mavis said. “The words never came from his mouth. I _found_ his journal and read it.”

“Curse Vlad and his thrice be damned loopholes!” Inmoon roared before turning around swiftly, the sharp ends of her tail catching Mavis across the face and leaving bleeding scratches.

Mavis gave a surprised yelp of pain and Inmoon stopped and turned her head back to look at Mavis as she held her hand out, examining the blood on her fingers. Inmoon stared intensely at her for a few moments before snorting angrily and continuing down the hall.

Mavis glared at Inmoon's back before walking after her and the two continued on in silence. Their footfalls bounced off the ruined walls. Tears pricked her eyes as she really took in the sight around her. This place was her home and there was no way she could look upon it as anything else. This blood-soaked, ravaged, empty place had been her home. She remembered nothing before the hotel and within these walls she had lived her life. It was sheer torture to look upon the place as she saw it now and she couldn't even imagine the horror such a thing must have wrought upon her father. This wasn't simply his home but his sanctuary. He made it to keep monsters safe and happy and now it looked like the aftermath of a war zone. This once beautiful place was now soaked to the bone in death and destruction. It was depraved, it was wrong, and it defiled every happy memory she had of the place.

She ground her teeth, swept away her tears with the back of her hand, and kept moving. The silence consumed her and the echoing footsteps sounded like an ominous drumbeat around her. Inmoon stood tall and regal before her without even a flinch as she walked over the destroyed decorations her father had worked tirelessly to erect. Mavis found anger filling her at Inmoon's callous behavior and she clung to that. It was better than the despair that had plagued her previously.

The pair walked confidently through the halls and Mavis allowed Inmoon to take the lead. She followed her without a word as she twisted and turned through the maze of hallways. Mavis' head lifted as a sound broke through the beat of their footsteps. She stopped and focused in on that sound as she creased her brow in confusion. Ahead of her, Inmoon came to a halt as well and listened intently.

It was a quiet sound and it played on their curiosity too expertly to resist. They simultaneously turned to find the sound for it was in the nature of the pair to see the danger that laid before them rather than to wander in blindly. They turned a corner and the sound grew louder. There was a wet squelch accompanied by a dry crunch. A suckling noise followed only to cycle back to the quiet squelch. They tracked the sounds to a hallway of open doors and cautiously continued on. Mavis peered into the doorway that proved to be the source of the noise and wrinkled her brow in confusion.

Inside she could she the form of her Aunt Wanda as she nursed a young pup in her arms. The rocking chair she sat in was moving faintly as the pup suckled on her exposed breast. A sense of dread filled Mavis as she remembered where she was. Inmoon took a cautious step back as Mavis took a step forward.

“Mavis.” Inmoon whispered. “We have to keep moving.”

The low whisper was enough to disturb the babe in Wanda's arms and the child looked up to stare at the pair with eyes still sealed shut. It opened its mouth and a shrieking howl tore its way from the pup's underdeveloped throat. It wriggled free of the limp grasp of its mother and tumbled to the floor in a splatter of blood. With the babe gone Wanda's gnawed upon form lay in full view and the writhing actions of the child caused her head to flop and her empty gaze bore into Mavis.

The child squealed as it flopped and heaved its embryonic form toward the door. Mavis gasped and stepped back in shock as clumps of fur fell away in mangled bits, a string of mucus following in its wake. The babe squealed again and the hallway filled with the sounds of answering cries as more bodies hit the floor with echoing thuds.

Mavis darted back into the hall as ten of the creatures crawled from the surrounding rooms toward them. Each child was in a different stage of development but all had a gaping snout filled with needle-like teeth. Unbelievably, one launched itself at Inmoon who stood in shock at the sight. It latched onto her face and dug its teeth into her flesh with a snarl. Inmoon yelped and shook her head in pain to try and get the thing off even as she took care not to step on any of the little ones crawling by her feet. Within seconds they swarmed her and she howled in pain as they tore into her flesh.

Mavis gave out a yell and grabbed hold of the one on Inmoon's face. She threw the creature away with all of her strength and gave not a wince when the fragile form splattered against the wall from the impact. She reached out again and flung another one to bounce its way down the hall. Inmoon howled in pain and Mavis smacked her across the jaw.

“Fight Inmoon!” Mavis yelled. “I can't get them all off by myself!”

She roughly yanked another babe from Inmoon's flank and hurled it away to land upon a broken table. The large splinters of wood impaled it and the thing writhed and flailed as it squealed. Mavis never would have guessed Inmoon to be even faintly maternal, but that was the only explanation for why she was choosing not to fight. The little babes tore into her flesh and devoured what they could sink their teeth into. Blood ran down Inmoon's body in thick streams and Mavis began to panic.

“Inmoon fight! They aren't real! Fight!” She pleaded. “I can't reach my father without you! Please fight!”

Inmoon locked gazes with Mavis and saw the sheer terror in her eyes as what she said registered. She gave a roar of grief before slamming her left side into the stone wall and crushing the small pups that clung to her. She repeated the action on her right side and rolled on the floor to dislodge any her back. The pair ran as fast at their legs could carry them. Mavis looked up and saw a tiny arm impaled on one of those fierce spikes and she reached up with deft hands and removed it without Inmoon noticing.

They ran until another howl reached their ears and Inmoon was slammed into the wall by a brown blur. Mavis whirled around to see her uncle Wayne biting into Inmoon's throat. She roared in pain and spun Wayne into the wall, cracking the thick stone. Mavis began to run forward to help but was struck to the ground, wood splinters raining down around her. She lifted her gaze to find her foe but could see none aside from Inmoon and Wayne. She began to lift herself only to be struck in the face and slammed violently into the rock.

Hands grabbed at her hair and lifted her head up to pound her face into the floor repeatedly. She felt her nose break as her lips split and blood poured down her face. She pushed up with all her might and got herself to her knees. She reached back and grabbed the hands holding her and flipped her adversary over her head and into the floor. The stone cracked but her foe remained unseen. She now knew who she fought and a shiver of fear ran through her.

Ahead of the Vampiress Inmoon struggled with Wayne. The Werewolf was fast and his mind was gone, left only with a burning hunger for blood. He swiftly avoided her strikes and snapping jaws and landed hit after hit as he leaped around her. Inmoon roared in rage and pain as Wayne sunk his teeth into her flank, spikes piercing his mouth, and tore a chunk of flesh from her. With every successful hit his belly grew as it was filled. His clothes no longer covered him and were merely tatters of fabric hanging from his limbs. His eyes were golden and bloodshot, his fur tangled, and his breath wreaked of decay. Blood oozed from his shredded tongue and gums as he snapped at Inmoon again, who managed to dodge. She finally ensnared his back leg as he leaped again and slammed him into the wall, tearing the limb off with the force. His blood sprayed across her face and she gave a victory howl that shook the hotel to its foundations.

Mavis shuddered at the howl Inmoon released and her quarry slipped free in her distraction. She stood and received a heavy blow to the face. She swiped at the air in front of her and was struck in the back with a foot. She was lifted by her hair again and her face slammed into Griffin's knee with a brutal crack. She pushed through the pain and grabbed his ankle. She flipped him to his back and sunk her fangs into the Achilles tendon and heard him yell. She found his knee and slammed her foot onto it, gagging as she felt bone give way beneath her strength. She leaped upon where she guessed his torso to be and straddled his chest. Hands clawed at her arms and reached for her face. He ripped hair from the side of her head as she grabbed his neck and squeezed.

Terror took hold of Mavis as she began to realize the power that she held. She could break bone without the slightest of resistance and it sickened her. Her fear turned to rage as she recalled why she had to do this. Red ate away her vision and she barely remembered grabbing the sides of Griffin's head hand slamming him to the stone floor.

“I hate you!” She screamed to the Vour as she smashed Griffin's head to the floor. “I hate you!” She smashed his head again. “Give” Slam! “Me” Slam! “My” Smash! “Father” Smash! “BACK!!!” As she screamed the last words there was a sickening crunch beneath her and a splatter of red as the unseen form of Griffin lay still.

She gasped and promptly vomited on the bloody carpet as she looked down at her hands, stained with crimson. She could hear the sound of Wayne's flesh slowly knitting itself back together and she shuddered. Frank's voice thundered through the hall and shook the very ground she knelt upon. An equally powerful shriek answered his roar and Mavis turned to flee. Inmoon thundered ahead of her, well aware that the young vampiress was fast enough to catch up quickly. She paused and looked sadly down upon the crumpled form of Wayne. She squinted in the dim candlelight and saw something clutched in his broken paw. She pried his fingers loose and examined her prize.

It was a simple photograph, serene and calm and so very out of place in that twisted world. She gazed upon the smiling and happy faces of all of her relatives. Her aunts and uncles stood around a beaming Dracula in the lobby of his hotel. This was it. The second token and Mavis pocketed it as she had the last one before running after Inmoon as fast as she could.

She powered her way through the halls as the ruined forms of guests began to tumble their way from every crevice. They cursed her and screamed horrid threats of torture and death. They called her a true monster and a deceiver. She heard Wayne's howl as he arose despite his terrible wounds and felt the ground tremble beneath the heavy footfalls of her Uncle Frank and Aunt Eunice. She barely had time to dodge as Wanda lunged at her through a door with a belly split wide and gaping. The scent of blood and decay grew stronger and stronger until the pair could scarcely breathe, but still they continued to flee.

They wound their way through the passages and stone hallways. Their near panicked minds barely able to follow the trail. She caught a glimpse of Murray as he ran toward them and she quickly averted her eyes. Murray's jaw hung down, connected on one side by bandages and dried tendons. His eyes were a pair of empty sockets and there was no tongue within his mouth. Old blood stained his wrappings and they tumbled away from his mummified form as he ran.

The two ran from the mob of murderous creatures behind them and somehow, through the haze of terror, managed to find their way to Dracula's chamber. Inmoon nearly tore the door from its hinges in her haste to get inside. The room was dark and barren of any decoration and there was an empty spot on the wall where Martha's picture should have been.

In fact the only thing in the room happened to be Dracula's coffin and as the howling and wailing grew louder Mavis lifted the lid to reveal a stone staircase. She didn't wait for Inmoon and ran down into the enveloping darkness, but she heard the silver she-wolf's footfalls behind her. Everything grew deathly silent as they descended but the world around them grew oppressive and suffocating as they followed the stairs to the third level of Dracula's Fearscape.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes.....we threw babies at walls. I'm going to hell for the content in the Fearscape chapters.


	19. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fearscape: Level 3, Final Level.

Mavis walked down the stairwell and emerged in a place that was nothing more than a massive pile of rubble. Everywhere around her lay crumbling boulders, stone slabs, and steel girders that formed a steep slope littered with loose rubble. She had seen several movies thanks to Johnny and the place looked like it had been hit by a bomb. She looked behind her to see the remains of a stone wall. There was nothing on the other side of it but the staircase led up into the enveloping darkness she had descended from.

Above her the sky was black with clouds and the air was damp but no rain fell. She shifted her feet uneasily in the darkness, that was physically oppressive as well as visually, and sent a handful of dirt and gravel tumbling down the slope. She glanced back at Inmoon and saw a child's doll beneath her massive paw. Inmoon took a step forward and her claws shredded the dusty toy.

“There is only one way to go now.” Inmoon said as she began the treacherous journey down the steep slope.

Mavis gulped although her throat was dry and followed behind Inmoon. This level felt different somehow, fresher almost and Mavis knew that it was within this level that her father was held captive. Her hands shook as she anticipated the horrors of this level and in what condition she might find her father. Her footsteps faltered and a sudden feeling crashed upon her as a tidal wave. Suddenly her earlier confidence was swept away in the wake of her anxiety and she was unsure if she could stand the sight of whatever these horrors had reduced her father to.

Tears fell unbidden down her cheeks in crystal streaks quickly polluted by the dust in the air. She wiped them away with her hand but only succeeded in smearing the wet trails of dirt that clung to her face. Her vision blurred and she was forced to nearly crawl upon her hands and knees to evade slipping on the unsteady surface beneath her. This attempt did her no good in the end and her feet lost purchase as the rock she stood on shifted and tumbled away. She fell with it and could only wrap her arms protectively around her head. Her back hit a stone slab and the thing shuddered from the impact of her light form.

She heard the rumble as the precariously unstable structure began to tilt toward her and she yelled in fear as the wall of rock rushed down. She closed her eyes and prepared to feel the terrible pain of her bones grinding to dust beneath the weight but the boom sounded as the slab fell and she was unharmed. She pried open her tear clouded eyes to see Inmoon panting and looking upon her with such worry Mavis was shocked.

Inmoon leaned down and reverently cleaned her face of her tears with a few gentle licks.

“Hush child.” She soothed. “I know your fear. It is well placed but your father is strong. He will survive this as long as his family remains.”

Mavis shuddered and wept more under the kind words from the she-wolf above her, who had only shown a fierce and bitter personality. Inmoon seemed an enigma to the young vampire who wept bitter tears for her father's trials. What was the truth of her, Mavis wondered. Was she bitter, resentful, and hard or was this what was hidden away and guarded? Could this ferocious creature before her be so strong, kind, and, odd as it sounded, motherly? Mavis' head spun as she struggled to regain her control.

“Take your time child.” Inmoon said gently. “There is no lack of it on this level.”

Mavis shuddered at the deep sadness she heard in Inmoon's voice and she remembered the entries in her father's journal. Not only was Inmoon older than Mavis could comprehend but she had been put through such darkness and betrayal that Mavis could not contain another shudder, though she wasn't cold. She breathed deep to steady herself as Inmoon gently licked her face clean once more.

“You are his greatest treasure Mavis. Know that. Never forget it. His love for you is unequal to anything else this world can summon. You may free him from this hell sooner than I ever could.”

Strengthened by the she-wolf's words, Mavis gathered the remaining shreds of her courage and hauled herself to her feet using Inmoon's fur as hand holds. The two remained where they were for a few oppressively silent moments and stared down the slope into the blackness that ate away the crumbled path before them. Mavis moved first and carefully chose her steps as she moved and Inmoon no longer walked on ahead of her in impatience.

The blackness parted before the pair even as it swallowed the rubble behind them in a never ending abyss. There was naught a sound as the two journeyed down a slope that led them on for hours and never ceased. The air smelled of ash and rain and still not a drop fell. The thunder rolled and the lightning flashed as the place seemed to grow angrier the farther they walked. It felt as though days had passed as they continued to walk and Mavis' entire body ached, but she pressed on. She grew emboldened in the knowledge that every step forward took her closer to her father.

No words were exchanged as the determined pair continued forward passed the point of utter exhaustion. Mavis stumbled and Inmoon steadied her as they took each step one at a time. Inmoon's bare paws spread out upon splintered wood and sharp stone but she dug her claws deep despite the pain to find purchase and each step drew more blood from her flesh. Both were weakened by thirst and hunger and they fought hard for every bit of ground gained.

Mavis lifted her eyes from the ground as they split company to move around a splintered wooden pole and a single sound broke the silence of the place aside from the booming thunder. The faint sound of fabric reached Mavis' ears as it flapped in a nonexistent breeze. Inmoon's ears pricked at the noise and both turned their attention to the top of the mangled wooden spire. Before their very eyes, waving tattered in a phantom wind, was something Mavis was intimately familiar with. It had comforted her in the long dark nights of her childhood when she slept alone. It was a simple thing that meant so much to her and had been one of the few things saved from the fire that had ripped Castle Lubov asunder with the wrath of a night her father would never forget.

It was her baby blanket and it waved about forlornly atop the wooden spire as if lamenting it's abandon. With Inmoon's help she reached the precious item and wrestled it free from the grasp of the cruel wood that had bitten into the soft fabric. She clutched it to her face and smiled as she realized that this final token meant that they were drawing close to finding her father. The lightning flashed and the thunder boomed, shouting curses down upon them for their interference but they neither faltered nor weakened in their mission. Rejuvenated by their find they pressed on with a speed they had forgotten they possessed and the darkness continued to eat away the path behind them as it cleared before their feet.

It could have been minutes, hours, or days that passed by before the sound of sobbing reached their ears. They stopped in their tracks as a single broken wail pierced the darkness and the thunder and lightning ceased. A sudden shyness descended upon them and it felt wrong to interrupt the lamenting of the voice but their mission urged them forward into the darkness that refused to part. They passed blindly through the black curtain and Mavis shouted in terror as she broke through and nearly fell from the cliff at the end of the slope.

Inmoon was equally shocked and she yelped as her own paws scrabbled to find purchase and the two barely managed to keep from tumbling down into the abyss beneath their feet. They steadied themselves before following the sound of weeping that scared them more than anything they had faced thus far. As they wandered the edge of the cliff, their feet sending rubble tumbling down, the sound grew clearer and clearer.

Though she had never heard her father cry before, Mavis recognized her father's voice and she could hear a second voice as it tormented him.

“Why?” It whispered. “Won't you help me? Don't you love me?” It was her own voice that made Dracula cry so brokenly. “This is your fault daddy.”

Mavis' filled with rage and it pushed her forward to crawl over the boulder that blocked her path and she was finally greeted with the sight of her father. He sat upon the damp, destroyed ground at the base of the slope and held the mangled form of his daughter in his shaking grasp. The left side of her face had been torn open by long talons and the wounds bubbled blood. Her legs had been ripped from her torso and Mavis gaped at the sight of her own body so viciously mutilated. Her guts tumbled from the remains of her abdomen and her spine protruded from the flesh in a sharp splinter of bone.

“You let them get me.” The Fearscape Mavis accused as Dracula clutched her and cried.

“I'm sorry.” He whispered and Mavis had never felt more pain than in those moments as she gazed upon the entirely ruined form of her father. “I'm sorry.”

“Why didn't you save me?” Fearscape Mavis choked on the blood in her throat and Dracula stroked her face soothingly.

“Shhhh, baby. Shhhhhh.” He soothed. “Don't speak honey. I'm sorry.”

Mavis and Inmoon could only stare in shock at the final horror the Vour had concocted for Dracula and as they looked upon him, they knew that it had indeed shattered him. Inmoon held the courage to take that first tentative step forward and the air grew thick around them. The tang of blood mixed with the scent of ash and the dampness of the air only served to heighten the smells.

“Daddy....” Fearscape Mavis choked. “It hurts. You've made me hurt. Help me please!”

Dracula clutched tightly to the imposter in his arms completely unaware that his true daughter stood mere feet behind him, healthy, whole, and wanting nothing more than her father.

“Vlad.” Inmoon called out quietly and Mavis grew afraid at seeing her seven tails tuck beneath her sturdy frame in fear. “Vladislav.” She called again and he stiffened when her voice reached his ears.

His brow creased in confusion and a simple touch from the creature in his arms brought his attention away from his friend.

“Vlad, look at me.” Inmoon said and again his head lifted in recognition of her voice. “Over here Vlad. Turn your head and look upon me.”

Slowly his head turned and the sheer confusion and disbelief in those eyes shook Inmoon. Yes, she had seen this before but it never grew any easier and every journey into the fearscape grew worse as they grew older. Their age was a weakness in this area of their lives. The Pillars had seen countless horrors, had endless tortures inflicted upon them, and through all of their trials their list of fears only grew longer.

By all rights Mavis should not have been here and Inmoon's heart wrenched at that knowledge. These burdens, these horrors were for no one's eyes but the Pillars'. Mavis should not have such a thing thrust upon her and Dracula would weep over the knowledge that he had been unable to keep his past and his duties from tainting his beloved daughter. It was all he had wanted. If he gained no other sense of happiness or peace he wanted Mavis to remain innocent of the true nature of her father's life. His journal was one thing but Mavis had seen far too much here than Dracula would be comfortable with.

She would ask about the first level and Inmoon's stomach churned at the mere idea of such a thing. No, they never spoke of it. Not even amongst themselves and they would not break that now.

Inmoon shook her head and stood tall under Dracula's bewildered stare.

“Inmoon?” He asked through tears.

“Aye Vlad, it's me.” She nodded.

The creature in his arms whimpered in pain and clutched at his cloak and he cradled her as he hushed her soothingly.

“Vlad, no.” Inmoon growled. “This isn't real. She isn't real.” She stamped her paw and sent stones tumbling.

“Daddy.....daddy don't leave me.” The imposter whimpered. “She's trying to trick you daddy.” The creature began to grow hysterical in his arms. “Please don't leave me after what you've done to me!”

“No, no, no baby!” Dracula hurriedly soothed. “No, I won't leave. Hush now. Calm down my sweet fangs.” He choked on the nickname, it seemed wrong when her blood stained his hands.

“Vlad, don't.” Inmoon was nearly begging.

“You won't take me from her.” Dracula snarled. “ _I_ did this. I should stay and be with her now.”

“Vlad, look around you!” Inmoon shouted. “None of this is real. Look at _her_! She shouldn't be alive!”

Dracula buried his face in the imposter's neck and bared his sharp fangs at Inmoon.

“Shut up!” He snarled dangerously.

“Don't succumb.” Inmoon urged.

“Silence you mangy dog!” He bellowed as he launched a stone at Inmoon's face. “Knowing you has cost me much. You won't cost me this!”

“Dad stop!” Mavis cried when she could take no more and his head snapped up.

“No daddy!” The Fearscape Mavis shrieked. “Don't listen!”

Mavis ran forward, passed Inmoon, and stood beside her father.

“Look at me dad.” She said with as much strength as she could muster. “Don't let it fool you like this. Inmoon is right, this isn't real. You're in the Fearscape.

Dracula's chest heaved with terrified breaths as his form trembled. His confusion mounted with each passing second and he clutched tighter to the bloody form in his arms. He could not afford to be wrong this time.

“Don't listen to them daddy.” He looked back down as his daughter whimpered in his arms. “It's the Vours. You let them in. You let them get me. Don't let them get me again!” Her frantic blabbering splattered blood across his cheeks.

“No dad!” He looked back up at the daughter beside him and barely bit back a wail of frustration and bitter despair. “You're in the Fearscape! You've been here before, you have to try dad! I came here to get you out and you can't just give up!”

Dracula wanted to scream until his throat tore at the assault from both forms of his daughter and their voices pierced his heart like a white hot stake. He knew one of them was false, a vision, a trick of his broken mind but he knew not which. Both voices continued their onslaught upon him, one quiet, weak, and pleading and the other was bold, strong, and confident.

He couldn't remember how he had gotten here but he knew one thing for certain, the Vours were to blame and if he made the wrong decision now.......the thought was too painful to finish. He couldn't bear the idea of leaving his sweet little girl to agony and death while he followed the whim of a Vour. He had wronged her enough by putting her in that pain when he surrendered to the will of the Vours. So much had been taken from him in his life, too much and he reached through the blackness to clutch desperately at the fading strands tying him to those he held dear.

He couldn't remember anything other than the crushing despair that gripped him now. He vaguely recalled once possessing an unchallenged strength and determination but it seemed more like a foggy dream than reality. His hands shook and his head spun as he tried to reach what was just beyond the grasp of his broken mind. Their voices slammed into him with the force of a sledgehammer and tormented him beyond what he felt he could bear.

“Shut up!” Mavis yelled at her doppelganger. “He's _my_ father! You can't have him! Let him go, I fought through this hell of yours and I'm not letting you win!”

“Daddy please!” The mirror image gurgled. “Please make it stop!”

Dracula fought to find his voice and could only succeed in making strangled noises as his mouth gaped open and closed. Tears ran freely down his pale cheeks and cleared streaks through the smears of crimson.

“You have no right to talk to him!” Mavis shrieked. “Don't you say another word! Dad! Look at me! It's me! It's your daughter, Mavis! I love you dad, please don't give up!”

“Listen to her Vlad.” Inmoon spoke with confidence. “Somewhere in there you know that we're telling the truth. You've been in the Fearscape before. You have to remember Vlad!”

Dracula's fists curled tightly in his daughter's clothes as she wept in this arms and begged him not to leave her. He could scarcely breathe as he looked back and forth between the two who claimed to be his daughter.

“You don't get to do this to him!” Mavis snarled. “You don't get to tear him apart like this! He's mine! He's my father! I fought for him! Me! I'll _make_ you give him back!”

Mavis was growing desperate. She wanted nothing more than to leap forward and rip that creature from his arms but she knew it would do no good. She had come all this way, fought through nightmares and horrors she never could have imagined in all her life and she wasn't going to give up now. The sight of her father looking between her and the thing in his arms so brokenly was almost more than she could bear.

 **“The tokens, child.”** Spirit's strong voice whispered in her head.

Mavis' head snapped up and her eyes grew wide as she recalled the tokens in her possession. She looked down at the blanket in her grip and slowly pulled the picture and the ring from her pocket. All of her hardness melted away as she knelt beside her father and gently laid a hand upon his shoulder. She allowed the tears to fall at the searing pain of him flinching away from her touch, but she persisted and laid her hand down. The creature in his arms screamed at the action but she drew his attention to her.

“Dad, it really _is_ me and I can prove it.” She said gently as she cried. “You left a few things behind didn't you? I found them for you.”

The first thing she showed him was the ornate wedding ring that she had never seen off of his finger. She held it out to him in an open palm and he stared as he struggled to remember where he had seen it. He knew that ring! It was important but he couldn't recall from where. He reached forward tentatively and his daughter caught his wrist in a terrified grip.

“Don't daddy.” She rasped. “It's a trick.”

Mavis said nothing and simply held the ring out for him to take. He reached forward despite his daughter's protests and reverently picked up the ring. Mavis contained her smile but her hope flared at that. He held it up to his face and stared as he swallowed thickly.

“Here.” Mavis offered. “I know where you always wear it.” She reached a hand forward and guided the precious item onto the ring finger of her father's left hand.

At once a flash of lightning ripped across the dark sky and revealed faces all around them. Dracula, too mesmerized by the token on his finger did not see the inky swirling faces twisted in rage as they hissed at Mavis. Long dagger teeth bared and red eyes bore into her but she ignored them.

She pushed the picture into his hand next and his other hand left the creature in his arms who released a sorrowful cry that made him hesitate.

“Don't leave me!” She begged.

He took the photo with both hands and his tears slowly faded as he looked upon the faces of all those he loved so dearly. They weren't hateful, they weren't mutilated, they were happy and entirely peaceful. His breathing steadied and he could feel something within him knit back together as he gazed upon the second token.

The hidden faces shrieked but Mavis refused to cover her ears to shield herself from the horrible sound. Dracula didn't react and Mavis realized that he was unable to see or hear the presence of the Vour within his mind. She grit her teeth and pulled the last token out and into her father's line of vision. He recognized it instantly and there was no hesitation as he snatched it desperately out of her hands and pressed it to his face. The creature in his lap yelled and screamed. He clutched the blanket tightly in a white knuckled grip and as he stood the false Mavis toppled to the ground. With each confident plant of his feet the landscape shook and there was a roar of rage as somewhere, something ancient awoke from its forced slumber.

He stood proud before Mavis and Inmoon and when he met the eyes of his daughter she knew she had won. She smiled and all around her the landscape cracked and began to fall away in shards, leaving only blackness behind. She tumbled down beside Inmoon and could only watch as her father faded from her sight where he stood. There was something else there, wrapped around him and burrowed into his flesh. She gasped in fear for a moment before bright blue eyes met hers and both her father and the thing woven into him smiled proudly.

Her vision darkened and she smiled in her victory as she fell.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this was an ocean of feels wasn't it?


	20. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Elements argue like children, Johnny is more observant than he appears, and Dracula cooks up a potion.

The first thing that Mavis became aware of was the warm embrace she was wrapped in, next came the yelling. It seemed like hundreds of voices were yelling at the same time. The noise bounced off the thick stone walls around them and rose to a great cacophony in the small space. She peeled her eyes open and saw Johnny's face hovering over her own. His brows were pinched together and tears streamed down his cheeks as he gently stroked her cheek with his hand. 

“Back off now!” She heard Viore yell. “It ain't your place to deal with this! I sure as hell ain't gonna let you fucksticks screw this up!”

She heard Zeyphx's deep rumbling voice let out a hysterical wail and she finally mustered the strength to move. Beside her Inmoon groaned as she pulled herself to her feet.

“Mavis?” Johnny's hopeful voice brought her attention back to him. “Mavis are you awake?”

She nodded as he helped her sit.

“Oh god Mavis that was probably the scariest thing I have ever seen!” He hugged her tightly and kissed her.

She leaned into the comforting press of Johnny's lips on hers and relished the feeling. She pulled back and her gaze drifted to her leg. The bite mark of the babe from the first level marred her leg but there was no laceration to her skin. It was a deep black mark with clear teeth impressions and from those the inky color stretched across her calf in varying sizes of veiny strings.

“What?” She gasped.

“I dunno. It just happened while you were out.” Johnny answered as he squeezed her tighter.

Her head snapped up as the yelling rose to thunderous booms and her Uncles broke through the ring the Pillars had formed to get to Dracula who was struggling his way to wakefulness. 

“Why y'all-”Viore's angry shout was cut off as Lorelay laid a hand on his shoulder and he met her eyes. 

The two held a conversation through their gazes alone and Viore visibly deflated and allowed them access to Dracula as his eyes rolled while he tried to focus. Isobel desperately tried to restrain a screaming Zeyphx as he thrashed and wept in her arms. She spoke soothingly to him and stroked his matted hair gently as she tried to figure out exactly what it was he was seeing. She received only hysterical blubbering in return.

“Drac!” Frank shouted as he ripped away the stone bindings. “Drac, can you hear me?”

For a few seconds the Vampire fell limply into Frank's grasp before he managed to get his feet beneath him and stand on shaky legs, gripping Frank's arms as he trembled.

“Drac! Buddy, are you alright?” Wayne asked and it was followed by similar questions from Griffin and Murray.

“Calm down.” He said, voice quivering. “I'm sorry. I'm back, everything is alright now.”

“What happened?” Murray shouted and everyone in the room yelled their desires for the answer.

Dracula's eyes widened as Zeyphx's screaming rose over the voices of the crowd. He dashed from the grasp of his friends and ran to Zeyphx's side. He was joined by Inmoon, Viore, and Lorelay. He listened closely as Isobel tried to work her way through his rambling and his face was pinched in despair for his friend.

“Zeyphx.” He called over the Warlock's screaming. “Zeyphx, everything is alright. Inmoon and Mavis pulled me out. Whatever you are seeing is not real. Wherever you are, hear my voice and return to us.”

“He's insane.” Griffin muttered in horror.

“Yes.” Dracula responded as he stood and left the task to Isobel. “Yes, he is. It is the price that he paid. The burden of The Eye is too great for any mind to bear, but his insanity is not cause for any disrespect.” Dracula stood tall and proud as he said this. “He is The Eye, The Oracle, whatever title you care to give him. He sees everything. Not just the future, but the past and every possibility of every choice ever made. He gets.....lost...sometimes.”

Tense moments flew by as Isobel cradled the powerful Warlock and drew him back to reality. His cries and struggles slowly faded and after he had returned she simply held onto him and comforted him.

“I believe explanations are in order.” Dracula said, his tone resigned.

There were shouts all around.

“They're called the Vours and they are.....I cannot think of how to describe them. They are nightmares incarnate and insanely cruel. Their world is cold, dark, and empty and so they travel to ours. Our world holds everything they could ever want but they aren't satisfied with simply living here. They take the bodies of anyone they can so that they can feel, and taste, smell, things they can't do. They are non-corporeal beings, they don't have a physical form which is why it is so hard to fight them.”

He paused for breath and to attempt to organize his thoughts as he tucking his hands under his arms in an attempt to quell their shaking.

 

“Their world lies parallel to our own and long ago, before I was born and I don't know when, a.....rip occurred in the fabric between the realms. Every year on Sorry Night, the Winter Solstice, the tears align and allow them to pass through. Or....that is how it used to be. They changed the rules, formed a permanent bridge somehow and so we covered the rip with the gate. It killed us. It was far too much for mortal bodies to deal with and tore us apart from the inside out. Back then the Elements were unbound and dwelled everywhere simultaneously. Magic was well known, granted by the elements during the ceremony.”

He let out a long sigh and kept his gaze well away from any of his friends.

“A result of our spell was that the Elements, beings of immense power and the source of all magic, became bound to us. Our minds merged but we remain two separate entities dwelling in one body. They don't tend to talk much.” He added as an attempt at a joke.

“Antisocial li'l jerks.” Viore said with a smirk. “Well pardon me if I find the fleshies confusing.” He muttered as his accent faded.

Dracula's brows knitted together as his red eyes flared with a crimson glow, pupils narrowing to slits.

“Fleshies?” Shadow's powerful rich voice asked in confusion as he raised a brow.

“Ha! That's a good'un!” Viore laughed.

“You, Fire.” Shadow mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. “Have been hanging out with him for far too long. You're coming up with ridiculous words now too.”

“Hey c'mon man!” Viore yelled before flame poured from his eyes, sparks dancing. “It was a fitting term.”

“It was stupid.” Shadow responded.

“I side with tall dark and handsome.” Spirit stepped in, her voice strong and rich.

“He's a pale little leech.” Fire sulked.

“Now that wasn't called for!” Dracula yelled stomping his foot childishly.

“Pardon the matchsticks.” Inmoon laid a hand on his shoulder as the swirling purple marks around her eyes and snout faded. “They're grumpy tonight.”

“Walking pile of tinder.” Shadow growled and his eyes flickered and glowed. “That is more than enough. You five can shut up!”

It was confusing for the onlookers to see three people arguing amongst themselves as six different beings. Johnny helped Mavis to stand and as he watched the scene unfold his eyes grew wide. He pulled away from Mavis reluctantly and walked up to Dracula, looking into the glowing red eyes that signified Shadow was speaking.

“Oh...my...god.” He muttered and the Elemental turned his gaze to him. “I've spoken to you before!” Johnny exclaimed. “I've seen those eyes before, but they were blue! In your room the night you and Drac told me about Martha!”

Shadow simply nodded before the glow faded and pupils rounded and Dracula let out a tired sigh.

“Anyway........” He growled. “In my haste to defend Mavis I.....allowed a Vour to enter my mind. I was locked within the Fearscape, a world constructed by the Vour to contain the consciousness of their victim. It is....not a nice place.” He shuddered. “There they feed off of the fear of their victim. Inmoon and, surprisingly, Mavis journeyed into my Fearscape and retrieved me. That is what happened and if you had separated us there is no telling what damage could have been done. My friends made the right decision in keeping you from us.” 

He paused for a few moments, rubbing the back of his neck.

“How many made it anyway?” He asked sheepishly.

“You were the last one in.” Gemma shouted out and all eyes turned back to the camera crew.

“Oh! Dudes, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot about you!” Johnny shouted as he ran over. “You guys okay?”

“Shaken as hell but good.” Lawrence's voice trembled as he answered. “This is whacked man!”

“I am sorry.” Dracula said as he approached the group. “When I allowed you to stay I never anticipated that something like this would happen. The gate was supposed to be unbreakable.”

The group of humans was holding together well despite the situation. They rooted themselves in their project and filmed every second of the chaos that had descended so suddenly. Trapped in that room their bravery had unraveled and the full impact of the situation hit them full force. The surviving guests were facing a similar situation and everyone struggled to maintain the illusion of calm. Panic would not help the situation. Eunice, Wanda and the pups had, thankfully, made it outside the Hotel before the Vours had sealed the place. Wayne and Frank had stayed behind to ensure the safety of Mavis and Dracula. They were beginning to realize that the choice may have cost them their lives.

The situation seemed hopeless the more everyone looked at it. The only thing keeping them safe from the Vours were the runes carved into the walls. The Vours would not release their hold on the Hotel until they had beaten the Pillars. They could reform the gate but no one was certain what affect it would have on the Pillars this time and it had proven to be a temporary fix. It would be pointless to try the gate again, unless they had no other option. The Vours had flooded the Hotel and there was no way to combat them on a physical plain. Their energy could be dispersed but they would only reform. The Vour that had been expelled from Dracula's mind was already, no doubt, back within the Hotel and awaiting its next opprotunity. 

Opening the door would mean a fate worse than death but neither could they cower in that room while the Vours tore the world apart. The jaws of fate had sealed shut and they had no option. They must face the Vours again and find a way to defeat them. This was an unspoken decision that everyone had reached and they only waited for the Pillars to decide their battle plan. The war had never ended and now they were caught in the middle of a secret feud between the creatures of the void and the original six monsters.

“So, what do we do?” Griffin broke the silence.

“I.....I don't know.” Dracula whispered. “The gate didn't work. I've been trying to find a way to kill them and end this once and for all but....you can't kill something that doesn't have a body. You can displace its energy but you can't destroy it.”

“We have to bloody figure something out.” Lorelay sighed.

“Well do you have any suggestions?!” Dracula snapped.

“Ah dun be like that now.” Isobel jumped in as she looked up at Dracula. “Gettin' yerself all wound up isn't ginnae help.”

“Yeah, ah git where yer comin' from Is' but Drac here's got a point too. We are plum outta ideas.” Viore chimed in as he stepped forward.

“There must be something we're missing!” Dracula hissed in frustration.

The Pillars talked and debated amongst themselves on what to do and how they could possibly get out of this one. No one interrupted the ancient beings as they conversed but they did take note of the only one who wasn't talking. Zeyphx remained on the floor and simply stared into space.

Johnny held tightly to Mavis as he wracked his brain, trying to find something. His attempts were fruitless and he only wrapped his arms more securely around her. Frank, Wayne, Griffin, and Murray were in a similar state of thought and all reached the same empty conclusion. No one moved and it was beginning to feel more and more hopeless.

Zeyphx began to rock rhythmically back and forth as he clutched his knees and through the rising voices of the other Pillars his sing song voice drifted up.

“When dark creeps in and eats the light, bury your fears on Sorry Night. For in the Winter's blackest hours comes the feasting of the Vours. No one can see it, the life they stole. Your body's here but not your soul.” He cheerfully recited the old poem as he rocked back and forth on the stone ground. 

He continued to repeat it, as if stuck in a loop and it slowly drew the attention of the other Pillars.

“Zeyphx.” Viore growled. “Do us all a favor an' stop repeatin' that god awful poem. Gives me the creeps an' ya know it!”

“Bury your fears on sorry night.”

“Zeyphx, can it!” Viore bellowed, arms outstretched to strangle to poor little African.

“Wait!” Dracula grabbed Viore by the shoulder. “I think he might be onto something.”

“Aye!” Isobel clapped her hands as realization hit her. “Aye ah think he es!”

“Then spill ya two!” Viore snarled and Inmoon and Lorelay nodded.

“Alrigh' dun git yer knickers innae bunch!” Isobel shouted.

“Fear!” Dracula shouted like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Not followin'” Viore responded flatly.

“Fear. Bury your fears. A person's mind is their domain, they have total control which is why they can push the Vours out once they realize what is happening.”

“Vlad...” Inmoon's skeptical tone rang out.

“Just listen!” Dracula shouted. “The Fearscape. Why the Fearscape? Wouldn't it be more affective if the victims were put into a paradise? They wouldn't want to leave.”

“'Cause the Vours'r sadistic li'l critters.” Viore responded.

“Because a person has total control within their own mind the Vours have to be allowed inside. They can't get in unless you open the door for them, or at least unlock it. Fear has a unique affect on the brain as does every other emotion but fear has one of the most extreme affects. What if fear is the door?”

“So, just don't be afraid? Vlad, that is near impossible!” Lorelay shreiked. 

“I know, that's the problem. It's possible to not be afraid but highly improbable. Fear is an automatic response to danger but it is one that can be overwritten. Not easily mind you but it can be done.”

“So, ah little liquid courage an' we cin be off then?” Isobel shrugged.

“You don't need another excuse to drink.” Zeyphx's deep voice jumped in.

“Ah, nice te 'ave ye back.” Isobel grumbled at the jab.

“I could maybe fix something, just......just give me a moment to think.” Dracula waved them off and began pacing.

“Oh good lord save us, this brings back flashbacks.” Inmoon mumbled and Lorelay nodded.

“Hun'.” Viore said as he slid his arms around the pair's shoulders. “The good lord ain't gon' save us anytime soon.”

Dracula continued to pace with an intensely focused expression on his face. The entire world faded around him and his thoughts consumed him completely. His behavior only served to make the other Pillars uneasy and they all gazed warily at Dracula.

“Vlad Ah swear-” Viore was cut off by the Vampire.

“Shhh!” He hissed.

“Did ya jus'-”

“Shhhh! Everyone, shhhh! Shut up I need to think!” He yelled as he continued to pace.

A few minutes passed before he stopped beside Johnny.

“Shut up.” He snarled.

“But I'm not talking.” Johnny defended himself.

“You're thinking. It's loud. It's annoying. Stop it.” Dracula said as he continued to pace.

Johnny glared after him.

“Yeah, he gets like that.” Inmoon whispered.

“What is he doing?”

“He jus' might be about to blow us all to kingdom come.” Viore grumbled. “Death by Vlad's crazed experiments. Ah am not a happy bird.”

“Experiments? What do you mean?”

This conversation had attracted the attention of Frank, Wayne, Griffin, and Murray who had wandered over to join in.

“He has quite a mind for magic.” Zeyphx explained. “Understands it the best.”

“But....aren't you a Warlock?” Frank asked, confused.

“No need to rub it in.” Zeyphx sulked.

“Why are you guys treating this like it's a bad thing?” Mavis asked.

“'Cause we've all been there for the.....failures.” Lorelay answered.

“Catastrophes ya mean.” Viore shuddered. “Acidic gas folks. Ah happen to like my lungs. We are very attached to one another.”

“What?!” Murray yelled.

“Shhhhh!” Dracula hissed as he walked above them on the ceiling.

“Look a'righ. There ain't no way he stopped his relentless fiddling with a variety of unstable things so ya'll musta noticed somethin'” Viore whispered. “A rumblin', smoke, funny smell?”

“There was a time that the lobby filled up with smoke. No one could figure out where it was coming from.” Mavis answered.

“Lemme guess, ol' Drac was nowhere ta be seen?”

Everyone nodded.

“Well....thare's yer problem.” Viore said, gesturing to the still pacing Vampire as he walked up the far wall.

“Oh!” Dracula shouted as his face lit up.

He dashed back down the wall as he rambled hurriedly under his breath.

“Oh dear. Here we go.” Viore groaned.

“Well....if I'm gonna die I at least want to beat the Elite Four.” Johnny said as he pulled out a game-boy and plopped on the ground.

Dracula hauled a massive black cauldron into a clear space before turning to Viore.

“I need this lit.” He said as he turned back toward a large wooden cabinet.

“Ah am not yer pilot light!” Viore yelled.

“Do it or I'll pluck you like a chicken!” Dracula snarled. “Your choice.” He added with a pleasant grin.

With a wave of Viore's hand a fire sprung to life beneath the cauldron and Frank backed away into some far corner of the room. Dracula threw open the door of the cabinet to reveal an assortment of glass and clay jars filled with oils, liquids, herbs, and a variety of animal parts. His hands flew over the jars as he snatched things, seemingly at random, and filled his arms. 

“Lorelay, fill it a quarter of the way with water.” He ordered as he rushed back over with the jars rattling in his arms. “Zeyphx I'll need something from you too. Isobel I need you to keep a constant flow of air evenly through the mixture at all times.”

He set the jars down on a stone table Zeyphx formed for him beside the cauldron. The Pillars added what he requested and he reached out to pluck a feather from Viore's wings, hissing as it burned him, and threw it in bringing the mixture to life as it bubbled.

“Hey! Y'know ya coulda asked!” Viore yelled in protest as he rubbed his wing.

Dracula only smiled as he drew a tendril from the shadows and slowly lowered it into the bubbling cauldron. The mixture expanded and churned before settling and shifting to a deep blue.

“Good. Now.....” Dracula muttered to himself as his hands hovered over the collection of jars.

He carefully selected each one and added a measured amount and each ingredient changed the texture, color, and thickness of the shifting mixture. Anything solid was dissolved instantly as it touched the liquid in the cauldron. Viore shifted uneasily as he stared at the roiling black cauldron. Tendrils of shadow reached out and took each jar when Dracula had finished and returned it to its place on the shelf.

Frank wasn't handling the situation well. Viore had been bad enough and now the fire beneath the cauldron was pushing him closer to panic. Though he couldn't see it he could hear it and as soon as Dracula realized this the shadows swarmed forward and devoured the sight and sound of the flames. The Vampire's eyes were alight and his hair mussed as he ran his hand through it repeatedly as his mind raced.

“Frank, you need to calm down. This potion is entirely emotion based. You're going to contaminate it.” Dracula said as he turned to face the Flesh Golem.

“Drac, this is getting to be a little too much for me.” Frank's trembling voice responded.

“Oh for-” Dracula threw up his arms as he marched toward Frank. “Here!” He shoved a severed human spine, crusted with flesh and dried blood, into Franks arms.

“Wh-what the heck it this?!” Frank bellowed as he stared, wide-eyed.

“It's a spine I thought you might need one!” Dracula snarled before his eyes widened and he snatched it back. “Oooooh wait. I need that.” 

He walked back over and meticulously cleaned off the bones, tendrils of shadow flying forward to help, before lowering it into the cauldron and standing back as it released a puff of black smoke and blue sparks.

“Is....was that the spine from the...” Inmoon stuttered.

“Vampire Slayer? Yes.” Dracula answered as he watched the mixture carefully.

“Why....why do you have a human spine?” Murray asked fearfully.

“I thought I might need it. So, I saved it.” Dracula shrugged.

“But....” Wayne mumbled.

“We ran into some Vampire Slayers. Shot Lorelay, poisoned her. Shadow lost his temper. Bye, bye Vampire Slayers....well....just one actually. The others ran for the hills.” Inmoon explained.

“Inmoon.” Dracula called. “I need you and this is going to be very delicate.”

Inmoon made her way over and stood across from Dracula beside the cauldron.

“Isobel, keep the flow of air even and constant.”

“Aye, ah am.” Isobel nodded as she focused on the cauldron before her.

“Inmoon, I need to to sing.” Dracula said.

“Sing?” She tilted her head.

“Yes. It needs to be pure courage, fearlessness. Try to capture fearlessness in your voice. It can be nothing less than that do you understand?” He said seriously and Inmoon nodded.

Inmoon stood before the cauldron and took a few deep breaths before closing her eyes and lifting her head in a long howl that filled the entire room. She moved smoothly into a melody and her voice drew everyone's attention. There was only silence aside from the bubbling of the cauldron and Inmoon's voice. Lorelay's voice was haunting and seductive but Inmoon's was strong and full of power. As she sang it grew and became something that was both heard, and felt. It was a song of strength, courage, and power and everyone's fears melted into nothing as they listened.

“Good. Good.” Dracula encouraged. “Now envision it. Make it real.” He directed.

Before their very eyes wisps and streams of color flowed elegantly from Inmoon's open snout as she sang. Pulsing streams of golden orange flowed forth and Dracula grinned. He reached forward and shadows followed his movements. He directed the shadows as they wrapped around the golden orange wisps and gently guided them into the roiling mass within the cauldron. Inmoon's song continued and Dracula continued to direct its flow into the mixture as it flared and frothed. Inmoon's song reached a close and the room stood hushed in awe as Dracula grinned.

“Johnny, I need you now.” Dracula called.

Johnny looked nervously at Gemma before putting the game boy away and standing. He walked over with his head held high, he trusted Dracula. 

“What is it?” He asked as he gazed warily at the violently churning mixture.

“I need your blood.” He said.

“My blood?” Johnny's eyes widened.

“Just a small amount.” Dracula said holding up his hand and gesturing with his fingers. “You've shown a lot of courage. You stumbled, quite literally, into this hotel and only once were you ever truly afraid. In fact, you wanted to stay more than anything while most humans would have panicked. Even now you're sitting and playing one of your games during this situation. I need human blood but yours is perfect because of your courage. All monsters stem from humans and adding your blood will stabilize the potion and allow it to work on any monster that takes it, as opposed to only monsters of a select element.”

“Alright then.” Johnny shrugged and Dracula smiled in thanks as he gently took hold of Johnny's wrist.

He held Johnny's hand above the cauldron and drew the bone blade of his tail across the boy's palm. Johnny had expected pain but the blade was so sharp that Johnny felt nothing as the blood pooled in his hand. Dracula guided Johnny to turn his hand and pour the blood into the mixture as he gestured for Isobel to stop the flow of air and for Viore to put out the flame.

The reaction was instant and spectacular. The roiling mass stilled immediately before a rumbling boom, felt more than heard, rattled the room and the cauldron flared a bright gold. When the light had faded bright orange gold flecks rained down throughout the room and Dracula grinned excitedly.

“Yes!” He shouted. “Haha!” He laughed as he jumped into the air after releasing Johnny's wrist. “The Mad Scientist has done it again!” He whooped.

“Great!” Viore exclaimed. “Now, what does it do?”

“Takes away fear, entirely.” Dracula announced with a grin. “It will need a test run of course but if this works we'll be able to fight the Vours without the danger of possession.”

The Pillars grinned in feral excitement and the spirit of the room lifted as they all gazed at the steaming cauldron filled with a golden orange oil, the same color as Inmoon's song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus we have reached the end of the pre-written stuff. Anything from this point on will be fresh from me demented little brain. Thanks for sticking around and I hope you enjoyed it!


	21. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a plan is made, feels are felt, and the battle for Middle Ear-I mean the world begins.

Everyone cautiously crept toward the cauldron and peered inside to gaze at the golden orange oil as it stilled. Dracula's grin diminished as he grabbed a glass cup from the cabinet and carefully filled it before bringing it to his lips.

“Whoa, whoa wait a second Drac!” Griffin shouted. “How do you know that's safe?”

“I don't.” Dracula shrugged. “This is the test.”

“What?!”

“Well, I will heal very quickly if something goes wrong.” He stated.

“If ya turn into something freaky I'm laughing.” Viore said but his expression betrayed his unease.

“Everyone calm down.” Dracula ordered. “I'm certain I have it right.”

Everyone watched with bated breath as he raised the cup to his lips and drank quickly. He stood for a few moments and gave everyone a gentle smile before doubling over and screaming in pain.

Frank reached him first. He grabbed Dracula and supported the Vampire so he wouldn't collapse as everyone else ran forward.

“Drac! Drac, what's wrong!?” Wayne cried out.

Suddenly his screams turned to laughter.

**“Your faces!”** Shadow laughed as he straightened.

“Not cool.” Dracula face-palmed.

**“Can you blame me? It was perfect.”**

“Just shut up!”

All at once the room was filled with angry screaming.

**“I'm not sorry.”** Shadow said with a smug smirk.

The Elemental had no time to react before Frank hit him, sending him to the floor.

“You deserved that quit your whining.” Dracula growled as he got to his feet. “I am so sorry.” He held up his hands in surrender to the glaring crowd. “He is rarely apologetic for anything. It's safe, nothing happened.”

“We need to have words with that thing in your head.” Murray growled.

“Not now. Now we need to focus on the problem at hand. Will this work to prevent Vour possession and does it truly take away fear?” He shook his head. “It's safe to drink but we need a different test subject for the fear aspect, someone who's fear is easy enough to replicate and.....” He paused and brought his gaze to Frank who took an uneasy step away.

“Oh no. No, no, no.” He spluttered.

“Yes.” Dracula grinned. “Frank it's perfect! You're afraid of fire and that's easy with the overdone fried chicken over there.” He said gesturing to Viore.

“Enough o that or ahm gonna make fried bat tonigh'!” Viore growled.

The other Pillars covered their mouths to stifle their own laughter.

“Frank.” Dracula pleaded. “If this works you won't be afraid of it. It's the quickest way to test this out. Please?”

“Come on Uncle Frank?” Mavis encouraged.

“Yeah! Could be fun actually! Imagine not being afraid of fire.” Johnny shouted.

Frank looked around the room with wide eyes as everyone began shouting encouragements.

“Alright!” He bellowed over the noise. “Alright. I trust you Drac.”

**“Perfect!”** Shadow clapped.

“Not you!” Frank glared and Shadow blinked.

“Told you it was too far.” Dracula berated.

**“I'm the oldest of the six elements, I am pure magic. I can do as I please.”** Shadow said with a haughty look.

Dracula's face fell as he dropped his head. He began to argue and the only change was that his accent faded at times.

“No, no you cannot do as you please. **Yes I** \- No! No you can't! **Who are you to** \- The person who's body you- **That was your choice!** It was no one's choice! **Then why am I being blamed!?** Point is, that was mean. **I'm mean.** Oh! You are a liar! **Excuse me? You** -Shut up! **Make me!** Apol- **No-** Yes- **No-** Just because you're- **Stop being petty** \- You will treat my friends- **You know they're my friends too.** Then act like it! **I-** No- **Oh come** \- Now- **Are** \- Now- **Fine!”** Shadow threw his hands into the air in surrender. Before the scarlet glow returned to his cat slit eyes. **“I recognize that my actions may not have been well planned.”**

Everyone just stared.

“That's probably the best you're going to get right now.” Dracula said with a grimace as he noticed the stares. “I promise I'll explain everything.”

“You bet you will.” Frank said angrily and Dracula winced. “After what we read in that journal, you're going to be doing a lot explaining. But for now, how much do I need to drink?” He ended with a small smile.

“Let's try, half a glass?”

Frank raised his eyebrows.

“I need to figure out dosage too alright!”

He filled the glass halfway and handed it to Frank who, after a short moment, downed the contents in a single gulp as Dracula moved behind him.

“How do you feel?” Gemma asked as the camera focused on Frank.

“I don't feel any different.” He grumbled. “Drac are you sure this is going to work?”

Frank turned around only to come face to face with a giant flaming eagle perched on Dracula's arm.

“Augh!” He shouted and Dracula groaned. “No, wait Drac!” Frank interjected as the vampire sulked. “I'm....actually not that scared.”

“Really?” Dracula smiled.

“I'm still not coming any closer.” Frank stated.

Viore spread his wings and screeched from his perch on Dracula's arm.

“Another half glass?” Dracula suggested as the shadows crept in and refilled the cup.

Frank reached out and downed the glass without hesitation as Viore preened his feathers. As soon as Frank had placed the glass on the table by the cauldron he looked at the Phoenix and felt no fear. A smile slowly spread across his face and Dracula grinned.

“It works.” Frank told everyone and Dracula's grin widened.

“Now we need to see if it works to keep the Vours from possessing someone.” Dracula said as his smile faded.

“I'll do it.” Frank volunteered.

“Wow....it really does work.” Wayne frowned.

“Frank....I think someone who can fight them off physically would be better.” Griffin said.

“I can take the sword.” He suggested.

“Sirith....only responds to someone of my bloodline.” Dracula admitted sheepishly.

“Doesn't....that require blood magic?” Murray asked.”

“Yes?” Dracula responded with a grimace.

“ _More_ blood magic?!” They all screamed as the pillars rolled their eyes and Mavis gaped.

“I'll explain later!” Dracula yelled.

“Ah call firs' whack at those rabid li'l monsters.” Viore claimed as he swooped off of Dracula's arm and shifted back to his human form.

“Thirsty for a fight as ever, I see.” Dracula mumbled as he filled the glass and handed it to the volunteer.

“O' course.” He grinned before knocking back the whole glass in one gulp.

He took a deep breath before spreading his wings and drawing his sword.

“They strong enough ta possess folk now?” He asked.

“They are growing stronger by the minute. I think they are feeding off of the magic I've put into this place over the years. A lot of energy to devour.”

“Then le's do this.” He said with determination as he marched toward the door.

“One minute, sixty seconds, that is all. Understand? Keep count and after that we will open the door for you. Lorelay will give you a test to see if you have been possessed.” Dracula explained as he walked beside Viore.

“See ya in one minute.” Viore grinned as Dracula gave a three count before opening the door and slamming it shut behind Viore.

That one minute seemed to stretch on and on as they waited, straining their ears to try and hear anything on the other side of the stone wall. The silence seeped in as everyone counted and anxiety caused many to lose count and wait with baited breath to see if their hopes were founded.

Dracula yanked on the lever and threw the door open, lashing out with his shadows and yanking Viore back into the safety of the room before slamming the door shut and quieting the hideous shrieking of the Vours. Lorelay wasted to time and before Viore had registered what had happened she slapped an ice cold hand across his face.

Viore screamed, and the shadows bound him.

“Dang i' woman!” Viore bellowed. “Mah _face_?! Why mah face?! Y'all _know_ tha' stings! Ahm _fire_ damn it!”

 The occupants of the room breathed a collective sigh of relief as it was revealed that Viore's face held not a single trace of black. Dracula released him and the Phoenix got to his feet, grumbling in irritation.

“They didn' know wha' ta do ou' there Drac.” He said as his glare faded.

“Good. It works.” Dracula sighed in relief.

He sucked in deep breaths before sinking to the ground and leaning his head back to rest against the wall. He squeezed his eyes shut and ground his teeth as his hands curled into fists in an attempt to stop their furious shaking.

“Are you okay?” Johnny asked quietly as he approached.

“Of course he isn't!” Inmoon snapped. “He was just pulled out of the Fearscape!”

Mavis shuddered at the memory from where she stood behind Johnny.

“I don't want to do this.” Dracula gasped. “We lost everything last time. How many times do I have to lose _everything_?” He hissed.

“Dad?” Mavis called out as she walked over to kneel beside him.

He turned his crimson eyes to her and not a single moment had passed before he yanked her into his arms, wrapping her in a tight embrace.

“I won't lose you.” He said desperately. “I'm so sorry you had to see that baby.” He apologized. “You should never have seen the Fearscape, especially not mine. I thought they were gone.”

He took deep breaths to prevent his tears as he clung to her, assuring himself that she was still there and that she was real. He grabbed handfuls of her dress in his hands as he held her. She shook and began to cry as she finally absorbed all of the horrors that she had seen. He held her in his arms and rocked back and forth as he tried to soothe away her tears.

“You have to do it.” She whispered after a few minutes.

“I know.” He whispered back. “I know.”

She pulled away from his embrace and stood, moving into Johnny's arms.

“We cannot craft another gate.” Dracula rasped. “We have to end this for good. We have to seal the rift.”

The Pillars nodded in agreement.

“It took everything we had to create the gate.” Dracula said as he stood. “We will pay more to seal the rift. The gate killed us when we were mortal and petrified us for who knows how long. I do not know what will happen should we be petrified again. That might be the cost tonight. I cannot promise that petrification _will_ happen but I can promise more pain than we have ever endured before. Are you, as the vessels of the elements, willing to pay this price?”

“Yes.” Inmoon bowed her head in respect.

“Aye.” Isobel nodded.

“Yes.” Zeyphx responded shortly after grabbing at something unseen.

“Yes.” Lorelay said gravely.

“Oh, you bet yer sweet bippy.” Viore said with a smirk. “Ain't no way Ahm gonna be responsible fer them getting' loose.”

“As long as you all understand.” Dracula nodded.

“A'right. What's yer idea?” Isobel asked as the room grew somber.

Dracula took a deep breath to steady his nerves and chase away his fears as he thought about what he had to do.

“The best I can think is to cancel out it's energy. The tear is nothing but energy running on a specific frequency, the frequency of their dimension inside of our own, which allows the bridge to form. We find the exact opposite frequency and the two energies should cancel each other out and close the rift, but we are going to need _a lot_ of energy. More than what was used to create the gate.”

“Could this kill us?” Lorelay asked hesitantly.

“......I don't know.” Dracula whispered. “It's possible.”

Mavis gasped and buried her head into Johnny's shoulder.

“Drac.....buddy....you can't.” Frank stuttered.

“I have to Frank. It is the responsibility of a Pillar. A vessel of the elements. We are the only ones who _can_ do this. There is no choice here. If the Vours break free.....this world.....every life in it will know true suffering. I cannot allow that.” Dracula said gravely as he looked upon his close friend.

Frank, Wayne, Griffin, and Murray lunged forward and enveloped Dracula in a bone crushing hug.

“You do what you have to Drac, we'll take care of the rest.” Wayne said as he pulled away.

“Just do your best not to die.” Griffin tried to joke but the smile didn't show in his voice.

“And we're coming with you.” Frank said and the others nodded.

“Me too.” Mavis said.

“Dang straight!” Johnny shouted as he stepped forward.

“No.” Dracula glared.

“You can't stop us.” Murray smirked.

“And I'm a Dracula.” Mavis said proudly. “This falls to my shoulders too. I'm not letting you go out there alone.”

"Someone's gotta represent the humans here.” Johnny shrugged. “And if Mavis is going, I'm going.” He glared.

“I like your friends.” Lorelay smiled.

“I'm not fond of them at the moment.” Dracula sulked.

Everyone drank a glass of the potion before turning their attention to the door.

“The rift is in the ballroom.” Inmoon said as Dracula handed Sirith to Mavis and weapons were given to the rest of the group.

“Alright. We fight our way through to the ballroom as fast as we can. Stay together in a tight formation. Cover all sides and do not separate, but above all....keep going no matter what happens. Once there the Pillars and I will take our places and form the circle. We will be looking at the rest of you to protect us. The less we have to deal with, the faster this will go. We find the frequency, adjust our own to the opposite and hit it with everything we have and then some. Understood?”

Everyone shouted their answer as they prepared themselves.

Dracula nodded and took a deep breath before yanking on the lever and running out just as the door closed behind him, silencing the cheers of the monsters left behind. The Vours swarmed and the group charged forward with a war cry the likes of which was never heard before.

Or since.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recognize that the last two words are very cruel and I beg of you not to burn me at the stake for them! I hope to update soon, until then thanks for reading!


	22. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which battle binds everyone together, the power of the elements is witnessed, and the Pillars are troopers.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC's and the plot-line! Onward gents!…..and ladies.**

 

It was chaos from the moment the door opened. Hundreds of Vours swarmed the hotel and they all had set their sights on the group who had emerged for what would be the final confrontation. Isobel flew forward into the fray first and her transformation took place in less than a second.

 

Her cloak twisted and hardened to become a ridged set of black and silver armor. The metal overlapped itself, akin to the scales of a dragon, but the spikes formed where the plates merged were much more pronounced. Her already white skin faded and took on a pale green glow as her hair rode the border between bright white strands and fog rolling off of her form. Her teeth lengthened into bestial fangs as she let out a hideous wail and collided with Vours before them.

 

She moved quickly and she seemed untouchable as she used the wind to lift, carry, and push her from all attacks before she launched devastating strikes of her own that scattered the creatures before her. The next one to attack was Viore and in a flash of white hot flame his strong body was covered in armor of molten rock that solidified when struck and molded itself to his movements as it shifted and flowed. Whips of flame sprouted from his palms and snapped forward as he twisted through the forces of the Vours. He shouted, and yelled, and cursed in an ancient tongue as he labored endlessly for every inch they gained. He allowed a whip to dissipate and instead launched a blinding bolt of lightning that chased away the Vours who had managed to pin down Isobel. She flew out with a scream before diving back and blasting a path through the creatures, using gale force winds generated in less than a second.

 

Zeyphx stood at the head of the group, having molded the rock of his cloak into thick armor that crackled and ground at his joints. His green eyes sparkled with a mad glint behind his helm as he grinned at the chaos around him. He reacted to attacks that had yet to happen and struck down Vours with boulders, stone spikes, and swiveling pillars before the creatures had even reached the group. He shifted the rock and stone beneath his allies to prevent the Vours from landing a successful hit and chunks of earth flew in all directions as he peered into the future and the gift of Foresight quickly proved to be his strongest weapon, provided he remained lucid for the duration of the battle. He reached forward and vines shot from his grasp, wrapping around Viore and pulling from the grasp of twenty Vours. The thick vines burned away in seconds and Viore returned to his job of clearing the path.

 

Inmoon had shifted to her Hell-hound form, a form Mavis knew well from the Fearscape, and seeing her in battle was terrifying. The giant wolf was nearly faster than the eye could follow as she circled the group, defending at all sides from any attack that might have slipped through. Her strength was unrivaled by any around her and her ferocity, the stuff of legends. When she gained ground she refused to lose any of it and a feral gleam had overtaken her purple eyes as she bayed, gleeful to feel the rush of battle in her veins once more.

 

Lorelay took the rear, flowing with the movements of the group and her attackers. Her arms were nothing more than streams of water flowing from her shoulders along with her fins and she wielded them as the deadliest of weapons. She smiled, showing razor sharp fangs hiding behind the smooth skin of her thick snout as she launched a wave of mist before freezing it and laughing at the screeching of the Vours. She held them at bay and when a strike was perfect she formed an ice sword coated in protection runes and dissipated her foes quickly.

 

Mavis was astounded at the ferocity and flawlessness in which they fought together. They moved seamlessly as one and whenever someone fell another would be there to defend and help them back to their feet. It was a far cry from the panicked dash to the safe room, but there were far less people to defend now and all knew how to wield a blade.

 

She turned her head to gaze at her father and gasped as her eyes met a creature that looked nothing like him. She recognized the massive wings along his back, so huge they touched the ground at his feet and the taloned tips towered at least a foot over his head and the bone tail with blade unsheathed and ready for an attack. She knew it was her father who stood next to her, but the form he had taken for this battle was a terrible sight to behold.

 

His legs had long since faded into a writhing mass of shadow that lifted and carried him along the carpeted floor. The black faded into his hips and stretched into his torso in thick black lines. A set of obsidian scales covered his back, ending between his wings in an arrow following his spine. His flesh was not the pale white she recognized but tanned and stretched over a strong frame. His ears were pointed far beyond what they normally were and she could see them twitch with every sound made around the group. His face was no longer his own, but twisted and morphed into the face of a demon. The demon Count Vladislav Dracula had returned to world for this one night and she marveled at the power of him.

 

His jaw had lengthened and widened into a thick but short snout and his teeth resembled those of the Vours that swarmed around them. Hellish spines sprouted from his hipbones and more formed a line along his ribs, curving back to meet at his spine. She could not tell of they were spines or appendages of some kind as they moved and spasmed in the midst of battle like a set of smaller limbs. Spikes jutted from his elbows and shoulders and a set of double horns sat upon his head, two curving up upon his crown and two larger ones stretching out from his temples. Mavis had no doubt that they could be used in battle.

 

His fingers had thickened and lengthened into cruel looking black talons, the color in them invading the flesh of his hand and fading into grey as her sight traveled up to his wrist.

 

**“** **Concentrate on the fight Mavis.”** Shadow spoke in her head and she shook herself from her thoughts.

 

The demon Vladislav Dracula raised his hand and summoned to him an army the world had not seen in countless millenia. The shadows heeded the call of their master returned and flew to his aid, taking shapes and choosing forms amongst their ranks as they swept into the fray with gleeful cries, eager to taste the blood that had been so denied them by their lord. They rejoiced in the song of battle, finally loosed upon the world and allowed to follow their true nature once more. Reality warped around their victims as they swarmed like scarabs to a rotting carcass.

 

All around his shadows took form, many remaining mostly shapeless masses of churning darkness but a select number were more than their brothers and sisters and quickly rose to power in the battle as they chose forms of nightmares. One remained mostly humanoid but its arms stretched forward like the gnarled, bare branches of a winter tree to swipe and ensnare its prey. There were many poor souls who had not made it to the safe room, scattered throughout the hotel as they were. Now they lingered within the Fearscape as Vours perverted their bodies to further a war, and many would never again see the light of the moon above their heads.

 

One of the larger ones took a form filled with beady yellow eyes and thousands of gnashing teeth as it swarmed and devoured any whom its commander decreed an enemy. Another chose a humanoid form that appeared to be made of countless needles and spines that draped down in an imitation of a robe. It shreiked with a voice known only to its master as it spun and whirled in a tornado of movement, slicing through and shredding anyone it touched.

 

“Ya better keep tha damn thin's under c'ntrol this tahm Drac!” Viore shouted as the shadows surged forward.

 

“They know better than to betray me!” Dracula responded with a snarl as he directed his army with naught but the force of his own will.

 

The remainder of the group wielded the weapons of the Pillars themselves and gave no quarter as they fought through the growing swarm of Vours and possessed victims. Griffin leaped forward, twisting and turning with the movements of Isobel's double bladed scythe. With a blade on each end it was a truly dangerous weapon but Griffin handled it with the swiftness and intensity of a whirlwind. Frank decimated the Vours around him with the heavy weight of Inmoon's war hammer in his hands. Murray fought with Viore's katana and its whip form gave him no problems, despite his girth he was a powerful foe to face. Mavis held Sirith in her hands and felt somehow comforted by the weightlessness of the huge blade and Johnny fought beside her, using Zeyphx's staff. Wayne fought much like Inmoon and showed no mercy in his intensity as he slashed at his opponents with Lorelay's iron reavers fixed over his own sharp claws.

 

Each weapon was decorated with protection runes and all that was needed was a single touch and the Vours would dissipate, banished back into their realm until they poured from the rift to rejoin the fight.

 

“There's got to be something we can do for them!” Frank yelled as he fought back monsters who were once peaceful and simply enjoying the celebration of the Winter Solstice.

 

“There is nothing that can be done!” Dracula yelled back. “Do not hesitate to kill them! I promise, they will do _worse_ to you! Once we close the rift we can worry about whoever is left!”

 

“And if you're not here?!” Griffin hated voicing the possibility.

 

“Then Mavis can teach you what you need to know!” He bellowed as he lunged forward with his tail to strike a Vour who had slipped through their defenses.

 

“Quit jawin' an' figh'!” Viore yelled as he swooped overhead.

 

During the fight he had changed forms into a massive Phoenix that stood as tall and Inmoon's shoulder. Lightning poured from his beak and crackled in his eyes. His four wings were made of feathers blazing with the intensity of the sun itself. Purple lined the underside of his front wings and the top of his back wings. The underside of both wings, his chest, and head were black as coal. A deep red hue coated the top of his rear wings and slowly faded into orange and then gold on the front pair. A mixture of bright gold marbled with white, and orange covered his underbelly and merged with the purple on the underside of his front wings. Atop his head sat a proud pair of feathered ears akin to those of a horned owl.

 

Without the potion, Frank would have been useless next to a being of pure fire.

 

They yelled, screamed, and fought their way through the hotel to reach the ballroom and the rift that lay within. There was no time to gather their senses as Isobel blasted the door off its hinges and everyone surged into a room filled with Vours, and at its center lay the rift.

 

A rip in time and space loomed above them in the center of the room. A literal tear that leaked cold and dark into the hotel as Vours swarmed and screamed. It crackled and hissed with energy as the group took their places amidst the swarm of Vours.

 

The Pillars formed a circle beneath the rift with Inmoon at its center. Frank, Wayne, Murray, Griffin, Johnny, and Mavis moved around the room mingling with the shadows as they loyally defended their King. Mavis and Johnny did their best to ignore the itch of blood as it dried to their skin and hair in messy splotches.

 

A minute ticked by as they fought and Dracula merely stood, staring at the deep black of the void before him, he tilted his head and listened to the crackle and pop of energy as the fight raged on around him.

 

“Dad!” Mavis yelled. “Hurry!”

 

**“** **This is not something that can be rushed Mavy!”** Shadow boomed. “We have to find the correct frequency! We can waste no energy!” Dracula finished. **“Just hold on a little longer!”**

 

His eyes burned with intense concentration as he tilted his head from side to side, attempting to hone in on what he needed.

 

The battle was overwhelming, even to those who were no strangers to blood and battle. Mavis never left Johnathan's side as she constantly shifted between human and mist form, defending him on all sides as he, in turn, defended her. The group did their best but there were simply too many Vours and possessed monster lunging forward, jaws dropped in hideous screams of rage as they boomed curses and promises of vengeance upon the Pillars.

 

This world held within it everything they could not have, everything their own world lacked and the wanted it like nothing else. The blissful warmth and relief from the bitter cold, the light, and an endless supply of bodies to steal spurned them forth from the abyss like a roiling black waterfall. Such senseless and stupid creatures inhabited the plane before them and taking it would be all too easy once the Pillars, their eternal enemies, were vanquished. They ran through body after body, the person meaning nothing more to them than a pile of mobile flesh, easily replaced when its purpose was fulfilled.

 

“Come on Vlad.” Lorelay whispered under breath as she kept the Vours from distracting him.

 

Suddenly a manic laughter bubbled forth from his lips as he snapped his arms out and wrapped tendrils of black pulsing energy around the pillars in a loop that wound around the circle and snapped forward to connect to Inmoon, creating a pentagram between them.

 

“Feel our energy! **Match it!** ” They laughed with a crazed grin that split their already demonic face in two.

 

It only took a few seconds for the remaining five to match Dracula's and Shadow's energy and once they did streams of red, blue, green, white, and purple lashed out and wound around each other as they completed the pentagram around them. They gasped in unison as their energies merged and when their eyes opened they blazed with white light.

 

“All together now!” They shouted in Dracula's Romanian accent. “Do not stop until the rift is sealed!”

 

They all nodded before spreading their arms wide and sending a blinding stream of energy through the link and Inmoon directed the flow into the rift above her head. The sound of the beam clashing with that of the rift was deafening and the heat was blistering. Johnny yelped in pain and Mavis was forced to drag him away as blisters bubbled upon his fragile human flesh. The Vours howled in rage as the shadows screamed in frustration before they were cast back by their lord to prevent their own reign of terror should they be released from his hold.

 

“Mavis!” Wayne shouted. “Protect Johnathan! We've got this!”

 

She reluctantly followed the command of her uncle as the Vours flooded the room in desperation as they felt the harm that was befalling their doorway.

 

“I'll be alright Mavis!” Johnny yelled.

 

“I'll believe you when you can stand.” She replied sternly as she defended him.

 

A terrible scream pulled everyone's attention to the center room and their eyes widened when they saw the scene that lay there. The Pillars, faces turned skyward, were screaming in pain as rivulets of crimson dripped from their eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. The white glow of their eyes grew brighter and brighter as smoke rose from them and the screaming grew louder.

 

“Do something!” Mavis wailed as her father's form was reduced to the one that she knew and loved. “Help him!”

 

The pain on her father's face was unbearable for her to witness.

 

**“** **Do nothing!”** The elements boomed in their heads.

 

“What?!” Johnny screamed. “They're in agony!”

 

**“** **Physical forms are insufficient! The full energy will burn them, tear them, and break them!”**

 

“Then do something!” Mavis cried as she cut down Vours.

 

**“** **We can do nothing! All power is running to the rift!”**

 

Mavis screamed in despair as she unleashed her rage on the hideous monsters around her. She cared for little else other than revenge on the terrible creatures that were the reason behind her father's pain. The louder he screamed the angrier she became.

 

The Pillars screamed in terrible agony as they channeled untold energy through their bodies. The pressure and burning behind their eyes grew to be too much and they burst in a spatter of blood and milky fluid. Their sockets gaped, charred around the edges as their flesh began to bubble and split.

 

“We must…. _hold_..... _on_!” Dracula's accent rose from Lorelay's bloody, torn throat as smoke rose from her smoldering hair.

 

The scent of blood and burnt flesh filled the room as the seconds ticked by. Their breathing turned to ragged gurgling and the cycle continued as their flesh tried to knit itself back together only to be torn asunder once more. They screamed and screamed and screamed even as their throats split and knitted and their lungs filled with blood. The agony was overwhelming, like the sun itself lurked beneath their flesh and broken glass filled their heads. Hearts beating as one they pushed onward and refused to surrender.

 

For if they surrendered, if they broke and succumbed to their torment, who then would rise and protect this world? The Vours would swarm and devour the planet, covering all the lands in a sickening darkness and proving to all that hell really did exist. They were no ordinary beings. They were the Pillars. They were the oldest people on the earth, bonded to the oldest beings in creation. They were monsters, they were family, they were gods from myth and lore and surrender was not in their nature.

 

So, they surged forward and pushed even more energy at the rift even as their bodies burned from within.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter WILL be the epilogue! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and I'll do my best to get it up before Halloween! Thanks for sticking around and I hope you enjoyed this messed up story of mine.


	23. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which this story has reached it's end.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hotel Transylvania or any of the character contained therein. I do not own the Vours. I DO own the OCs and the plot-line.**

 

The minutes stretched on and the screaming only grew louder despite the blood bubbling up from within the lungs of the Pillars, from Dracula. The only way that Mavis could take the screaming was to scream even louder herself. She bled out all of her fear and rage through her voice and she continued to scream long after her throat had begun to protest.

 

There was so much blood and it covered the ground beneath her father, splattered along the walls, and dripped from his flesh like rain. How could so much blood come from six people? How were they still standing? How were they still screaming? How long was this torture going to continue, but more importantly when this was all over would she even have a father anymore?

 

The Pillars were barely recognizable as people anymore. Their flesh had burnt, bubbled, and melted away in chunks and despite their healing power trying so very hard, they were screaming piles of mutilated flesh that just kept burning.

 

Dracula's friends did everything in their power to help by darting around the room and protecting the Pillars from the Vours. There were so many of the wretched creatures that they could barely see each other in the room and more kept pouring in. They did well though and very few made it through to inflict more harm upon the Pillars.

 

Then, everything changed in the blink of an eye as the Elements themselves, bound to flesh and bone, lost the power to distance themselves and the pain broke through.

 

They began to scream as well. A terrible horrible scream of agony that filled the minds and hearts of all. Their screaming stretched around the world and no matter how far the person was, they still felt in their hearts that something was terribly wrong. The inhabitants of the world felt the phantom pains of the Elements that night and, for a few brief moments, were all united in their shared, inexplicable, grief.

 

For those within the room, the screaming of the Elements was unbearable but one cannot escape a voice within their own heads. They fell to the floor, covering their ears and writhing in pain and the Vours swooped forward and attacked the Pillars. They formed a dark whirlwind and tore at the Pillars like a swarm of piranha. Blood, flesh, and even bone scattered throughout the room as the Vours crowed in victory but their cries were issued too soon.

 

Mere moments after they had swarmedthe rift sealed. It clapped shut and formed a bright sphere of swirling energy that sucked in everything not tied down. Vour after Vour tumbled in and was torn apart in the torrent of energy. Tables, chairs, books, candles and everything that couldn't hold on for itself fell into the overload of power that was quickly balancing itself out. The sphere vanished and for a few seconds took everything with it, the room was devoid of light and sound and the only thing left behind was a building pressure before a mighty boom vibrated the castle. The sphere exploded, distributing energy back into the world in a blinding flash and knocking everyone back with the sheer force of it. Glass littered the floor and the Vours that remained quickly retreated into the darkness of the night, to remain in our world until the day the Pillars hunted down every last one of their kind and cast them back into the dark chasm from which they came.

 

They left behind a hotel in which nothing moved and not a sound was made in the darkness of Sorry Night.

 

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKNOTDONEYETPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

 

A few hours had passed before Mavis began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and her vampiric gaze easily pierced the veil of the night. She rose on shaky limbs and shot to her feet as the memories of the night's battle surged through her mind. She found Johnny in a heartbeat and rushed to his side to find him breathing and well aside from a few nasty bruises. He came around rather quickly along with Frank, Murray, Griffin, and Wayne.

 

As she heard the movement around her and saw everyone waking up she focused her energy like her father had taught her and relight the lamps and torches that were still standing. The room lit and everyone saw what remained of the Pillars. They lay in a pool of their own blood as their flesh slowly knitted itself back together. Mavis gasped and rushed over to where her father lay. She knelt in the crimson pool, ignoring the cold and sticky sensation as her dress soaked through.

 

She reached down and cradled his healing body to her chest as she cried. He was healing though, she could see it and that meant that he would be fine. They all would, because they were all healing and once they were recovered Mavis would get her answers, all of them. At this point she didn't even care about getting answers, all she wanted was her father safe and sound.

 

She heard what sounded like a stampede running through the halls. She looked up from her father's blood smeared face to see a group of monsters rushing through the door only to stop dead in their tracks upon seeing the horror show that lay within. Mavis locked eyes with Ruthaven who ran forward with a cry of despair.

 

“Dracula! Dracula!? VLAD?!!” He screamed as he fell to his knees beside Mavis and Dracula.

 

“Wayne? Wayne what happened?!” Wanda wailed as she ran into the embrace of her husband.

 

“It's a long story honey.” He whispered as he tentatively crept toward his old friend.

 

“Come on Vlad!” Ruthaven growled. “Come on! Wake up! You can come back from this. I know you can! You've come back from everything else, don't you _dare_ give up now!”

 

“Stop yellin'” A thickly accented voice rasped.

 

“Viore!” Ruthaven gasped. “Are you well?!”

 

“Aw Ah feel 'bout as good as the canary the cat got.” He mumbled.

 

“You're cold!” Ruthaven yelled in shock as he helped Viore to his feet.

 

“Yea an I dun like it.” Viore groaned.

 

All around them the Pillars began to stir and Mavis nearly cried with relief as her father opened his eyes and gazed up at her.

 

“Mavis.” He whispered with a weak smile. “You're okay. I was so worried.”

 

“That is just like you.” Frank groaned as he held back tears. “You about _died_ ,I think, and you're worried about everyone else.”

 

Dracula chuckled weakly as he got to his feet and shared a long, sad look with the other Pillars as they wobbled on their feet.

 

“It worked?” Dracula rasped.

 

“It did man. You did it.” Wayne said as he held his wife in a firm embrace.

 

Laughter bubbled up around the group as Eunice ran into Frank's arms and Johnny hugged Mavis with every ounce of strength he had left. Ruthaven grinned and laughed in both joy and relief as he beheld the sheer amount of destruction all around the room.

 

“We were all locked outside when that black shadow covered every entrance. Even the secret passageways!” He yelled. “No one could get inside!”

 

“They didn't want us getting out.” Inmoon answered in a tired voice.

 

“No one coming in to help us either.” Lorelay added as she trembled on unsteady feet.

 

“The point is you won! We won! We won and everyone is okay!” Mavis laughed as she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around her father.

 

Dracula returned her embrace weakly with a serene smile decorating his face. The embrace lasted a few blissful seconds before Mavis' eyes snapped open and she looked up at her father in shock.

 

“Dad…..you're not breathing!” She sobbed and his face fell.

 

Jonathan leaped forward and pressed a hand to Dracula's chest with wide eyes.

 

“No….no heartbeat either. Drac?” Johnny looked up with wide tear filled eyes.

 

“I was hoping to keep everyone happy for a little longer.” He grimaced sadly.

 

“Dad….dad what's wrong?” Mavis sobbed.

 

“It was too much Mavy.” He rasped in return. “I've got nothing left. No blood, no energy. I used the last of it to heal my body but that isn't enough. I…..we only have a few minutes left, maybe less.” He whispered weakly while gesturing to the others behind him.

 

“After all this you're going to die?!” Mavis screamed.

 

“Not die….” Dracula whispered. “Petrify.”

 

“No.” Ruthaven muttered. “NO!” He yelled.

 

“I'm sorry.” Dracula groaned. “I can't last any longer.”

 

“Drac come on! You can last. Someone hurry get him some blood substitute!” Johnny screamed.

 

“I need human blood…...more than you can give Johnny.” He finished as Johnny began to roll up his sleeve.

 

His friends began to shout and panic and every tear was like a dagger to his already shattered heart. He could feel the cold in his flesh turning to numbness and he turned to see stone infecting the flesh of the Pillars. He looked down at himself and saw the same.

 

_“I'm scared.”_ He thought to himself. _“I don't want this. Please….there has to be something. Don't let me petrify.”_

 

He began to panic and then he saw his daughter's face, the terror, the sheer unadulterated despair and he knew what he had to do. For her.

 

“Dad...no. Please no. Not you too.” She cried.

 

“Sweet Fangs...shhhhh.” He soothed as he reached a hand out and wiped her tears away with his thumb. “It'll be okay.”

 

“Please.” She sobbed gripping his hand to her cheek tightly.

 

“Take care of her.” Dracula said to Johnny as his body slowly turned to stone.

 

Johnny nodded, jaw clenched and fists bunched.

 

“I love you Mavis. Everything will be fine baby claws. Trust me.” He smiled and that was the last thing he did before he petrified completely.

 

Mavis broke down wailing and sobbing, tears falling onto her father's cold, stone hand.

 

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKI'MATERRIBLEPERSONPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

 

“It's not the end.” Ruthaven said as he stood behind Mavis.

 

It had been three days and she had refused to leave her father's side. Johnny could at least convince her to eat, but leaving that room or even sleep was out of the question. She had left once and only once, to open the safe room and free the monsters inside with the blood of a Dracula.

 

The only Dracula left in the world.

 

“He's petrified. Not dead.” He said. “I...don't even think he _can_ die.”

 

“How do you know?” She whispered through tears.

 

“I've seen it before. Never to him but….same principle.” He shrugged.

 

“ _How_ do you know about petrification?” She growled.

 

“I am sworn to keep my Lord's secrets.” Ruthaven responded, back straight as an arrow.

 

He looked like a soldier.

 

**PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAKLOOKHOPEPAGEBREAKNOBREAKINGIPROMISEPAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK**

 

Three months. It had been three long months and they had gathered very little information despite how hard Griffin had been working. He had only sorted through an eighth of Dracula's vast library, filled with information gathered throughout the ages. Johnathan had been scouring the world for any books that could possibly offer any help. Thanks to Dracula's immense fortune, gathered throughout his long lifespan, there was no price too steep.

 

Three months and they had jack squat for information other than a few old legends that held remarkable similarity to one or all of the Pillars. Griffin was working himself to the bone but he refused to give in. He would go for days without sleeping before finally crashing and repeating the process all over again. He was ready to throw the biggest bitch fit the world had ever seen.

 

Jonathan's friends had gotten out unscathed and filmed the results of the battle that had taken place that night. The documentary had been released and they had made a pretty penny but that no longer mattered to them. Mavis had taken her father's place as manager of the hotel and now Queen of monsters. She had opened the doors to humans, as was in her father's plan, and the Hotel had been nearly overrun by news groups from every corner of the world.

 

She had grown so very tired of all the interviews and all the condolences from people who hadn't even known they existed until the past few months. It angered her seeing all of these people, all of these humans who knew nothing of her father treating him like some kind of freak show. They all wanted pictures of the petrified Pillars.

 

It was disgusting.

 

Oh, there were a few who showed the proper respect that Dracula, that all of them deserved and she liked those people.

 

She spent a lot of time with her father, when she missed him she would simply press her cheek to his stone hand. It wasn't much, but it did help and she, they, needed all of the help that they could get.

 

She had to trust Griffin though. He was working hard and would continue to work hard until a solution was found. Ruthaven had assured them that it could be done. The Pillars had come out of petrification before, but it had taken centuries. They needed to speed up the process somehow and, again, Ruthaven insisted that it could be done but that he didn't know how.

 

Ruthaven was keeping secrets and after all of this, Mavis was sick of secrets.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL I SWEAR!!!!! Been in the works since halfway through this story here. I should have the first chapter in that up within the next couple of weeks. Pleeeease don't kill me! This author recognizes the fact that she is a terrible person and WILL burn in hell for her crimes tonight. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and sticking through this story even though I felt it got more than a little boring. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! I'll see you in the sequel!


End file.
